The Walking Dead: Take Us Back
by Project Century
Summary: Duck survived the attack on the Motor Inn but is no longer the naive little boy he once was. And now years later, he finds himself having to protect what's left of his family and home from those who wish to take it all away.
1. Episode 1: Part 1

A/N: This story follows the main plot of The Walking Dead: The Final Season but with an idea of how things would be if Duck survived alongside Clementine and AJ.

Those of you who'd like to know what Duck wears since he's much older. He wears a green military jacket, a faded red flannel shirt with a white T-shirt underneath, slightly tattered blue jeans and a pair of brown boots. He also wears Kenny's ball cap.

Hope you all enjoy.

* * *

_**Episode 1: A New Home**_

* * *

_''Family isn't who you're born with, it's who you die for.'' -Lincoln Clay, Mafia 3_

* * *

The drive was a quiet one.

Everyone inside was busy with their own little distractions. Clementine focused on the road the and made sure not to crash into the occasional walker that shambled it's way across, AJ was busy toying with his revolver, which was empty, and Duck stared absentmindedly out the window, his trusty crossbow resting between his legs. He would forever be grateful of the day he found such an invaluable weapon.

''Who wants to play 'I spy with my little eye'?'' Clementine asked, breaking the silence.

''Nah.'' Both the boys replied in unison then and continued what they were doing.

''You guys are no fun.''

When the constant sound of the revolver's chamber being rolled stopped, Duck shifted his gaze to the rear-view mirror and saw A.J's face wince in pain and a hand on his stomach.

''What's wrong, AJ?'' He asked concerned.

''Hungry.''

Duck sighed. They haven't have had a decent meal in two days and their food supply was running dangerously low.

''Here.'' Clementine said and handed him a half-empty bag of potato chips.

A.J eagerly excepted the snack, but then hesitated. ''But...what about you guys?''

''Eat up. We'll find something else.'' Duck reassured him, hoping he would believe those words.

Times were tough, but they had to keep pushing forward. Because that was better than just giving up.

* * *

They drove for another hour until arriving at an abandoned train station. Clementine slowed the car to a stop just by the entrance so they could observe the place. It was surrounded by rubble and derailed boxcars but most importantly: Not a single walker in sight.

''Are we gonna do it?'' AJ asked.

''We don't really have much of a choice.'' Duck replied, sounding more bitter than he meant to. He just hoped the place hadn't already been looted like all the others they've been to.

''We're doing it.'' Clementine confirmed and handed AJ a knife for protection.

The trio got out of the car and retrieved the rest of their gear from the trunk. Backpacks, a crowbar, and empty canteens.

There was a sign that stood by the entrance that read:**'Friendly? Ring Bell (No Trespassing)'. **Below it hung a rusty looking bell.

''Looks like the people here shoot first,'' Clementine commented. Out of curiosity, she went over and rung the bell once.

There was a brief moment silence before the moans of a lone walker could be heard waking up a meters away. Duck aimed his crossbow at the walker and fired. The bolt pierced through the walkers skull with ease. After scanning the area and finding no signs of more walkers, the trio continued past the derailed boxcars until they made it to the main building.

Duck went over the walkers body, pulled the bolt out of its head, and wiped the blood off on corpses shirt before putting it away. He turned to see Clementine and AJ standing by a large tire swing tied to a tree. AJ stared at it with curious eyes.

''Monster trap?'' He asked.

Clementine chuckled a bit. ''No, not a trap. It's a swing.''

''What does it do?''

''You get in the tire, and someone else pushes so that you go really high.'' She explained. ''Wanna give it a try?''

AJ seemed to give it some thought. ''Sure. But after we clear this place.'' He said.

It had been a long time since Duck had ever been on a swing. He remembered his dad pushing him on one at the St. Johns Dairy. Duck shook the thought out of his head. That place gave him nightmares for days.

He approached the door of the main building and tried the doorknob. Unsurprisingly, it was locked.

''I got it.'' Duck heard Clementine say from behind.

She took the crowbar out from her backpack and jammed it against the door. After some effort, the lock broke and the door slid opened slightly.

''A.J, what do we do inside a new place?'' Duck asked. He wanted to make sure the boy knew the rules.

''Listen for monsters.'' He answered quickly.

''Then?''

''Then we...'' AJ thought for a moment.''Always check the windows, always stay quiet and at the first sign of trouble we make our way to the nearest exit.''

''Good.''

Duck entered the building first with his crossbow raised. Once inside, he saw two walkers tied to chairs and facing the window. One looked male and the other a female. The walker couple soon spotted the three and made futile attempts to grab them. On the floor close to them laid a note that Clementine went over to pick up.

''What does it say?'' Duck asked.

''Please leave us alone. This is what we wanted.'' Clementine read the note out loud.

AJ's eyes widened. ''They gave up?''

''Looks like it. But at least they left this world together.'' Duck said without taking his eyes the walker couple.

It always saddened him to find ones that gave up trying. He hoped they at least found a better place in death.

''Duck?'' Clementine's concerned voice snapped him out of his thoughts. ''You okay?''

Duck sighed and looked away from the undead couple. ''Yeah. I'm okay.''

''Hey guys, this doors locked.'' AJ called to them.

He stood by the metal door to the ticket booth. They all took it as a good sign. It mean whatever was inside, someone thought was valuable enough to lock away.

''Well then, let's find out what's inside.'' Clementine said, crowbar in hand.

* * *

Getting the door opened proved to be a lot harder than they thought. There was a gap that AJ could crawl through and unlock it from the other side. But neither Duck nor Clementine wanted to put the boy's safety at risk, so they decided to kill the walker couple and hoped one of them had the key, which they thankfully did.

The room was had numerous shelves and cabinets against the walls and a mattress in the middle. In the corner stood an empty crib, though they didn't see a baby anywhere. Duck wondered if that's why the couple gave up.

''This place looks safe. Can we stay here?'' AJ asked after seeing the place was clear of walkers.

It wasn't a bad a idea. The place seemed easy to lock down if any trouble showed up. But with no food, that wouldn't matter.

''We'll see.'' Clementine replied .

The little boy frowned. ''No one's here. No one's ever anywhere. It's always just monsters where ever we go.''

''A.J, there's not many people left,'' Duck said. ''But we got each other at least. That's all that matters.''

''I know but-'' AJ's eyes lit up as something caught his eye. He ran over to one of the shelves and grabbed two bullets laying there. He was happy to see they could fit in his revolver.

''Remember our three rules about handling a gun?'' Clementine asked him.

''Always aim for the head, never hesitate, and...''AJ's demeanor quickly changed to a somber one. ''Always save the last bullet for yourself.''

It was a sad thing for a child so young to have to know. But in a world where monsters would eat whether you're young or old, it was necessary. That's what Duck always reminded himself. When staring down at the floor, he noticed something metal blocked by the mattress.

''I think I found something over here.'' He went over and pushed the mattress aside.

In its place was a metal trap door. Duck pulled the door opened and found a large stash of food inside.

''Holy shit!'' AJ exclaimed as he saw it.

Usually, Clementine or Duck would berate the boy for cursing, but they were just as equally stunned by their discovery. There seemed to be enough cans and jars of food to last them for weeks. For once their luck was finally turning around.

At least that's what they thought until a grenade with no pin rolled into view. Their looks of excitement quickly changed to horror. It was rigged.

''Get down!"' Duck yelled as he slammed the metal door shut.

_**BOOM!**_

The shock wave from the explosion caused them to fall to the ground. Duck's ears were ringing for a bit as he slowly got up.

''Is everyone alright?'' He asked worriedly.

''We're fine.'' Clementine replied. She grabbed hold of AJ in an attempt to shield him from the blast.

When the ringing in their ears stopped, they could hear audible groaning coming from outside the station. Duck went and looked out the window to see dozens of walkers shambling from the trees and heading towards them after the explosion got their attention.

''Shit! Walkers!'' He exclaimed.

''How many?'' Clementine asked.

''Too many. We need to get to the car!''

Not needing to be told twice, the trio stormed out the train station and headed to their car, killing any walkers that got in their way. Once inside, Clementine jammed the keys into the ignition but it wouldn't start.

''Come on, you piece of shit!'' She said furiously trying to get it to start.

Walkers were surrounding the car at that point. The sound of glass breaking from behind got their attention as one walker tried to crawl through the now open back window.

''AJ, down!'' Duck said as he aimed his crossbow.

The boy got down and Duck was able to get a good shot before the walker could grab him.

The car's engine finally started.

''Buckle up!'' Clementine said as she put it in gear. As she was about to drive off, a walker busted through her side window and grabbed her.

''Clem!'' Duck screamed. He didn't want to waste time loading another bolt and instead grabbed the walker by its head and tried to push it out.

The car crashed into something at full force, a walker most likely, and went rolling down a hill. Ducks head collided with the ceiling and his vision went black.

* * *

When Duck finally regained consciousness, his skull felt like it had been cracked like an egg. The car was upside down but his seat-belt kept him from falling. Below him was his dad's ball cap. The last gift he gave his son.

''AJ, are you okay!?'' He asked.

A soft groan could be heard from the back of the car. ''I'm fine. I had my seat-belt on.'' He answered.

''Can you move?''

''I think so.''

''What about you, Clem?'' Duck asked but got no answer. He looked to his side and saw Clementine's arms hanging limp in the air. ''Clem!?''

She still gave no response. Fearing the worst, Duck pressed his fingers her neck and relieved to still feel a pulse.

''Is she okay?'' AJ asked worriedly.

''Yeah, just unconscious.'' Duck reassured him. The familiar groaning sounds were getting closer. ''We need to move. Quick.''

Duck unbuckled his seat-belt and went falling on to the ceiling but recovered and put his hat back on. AJ did the same while Duck work to unbuckle Clementine, making sure she didn't fall down. He then dragged her unconscious body out of the car and carried her in his arms. Walker's were closing in on them from all sides.

''AJ, hurry up!'' Duck exclaimed.

AJ came crawling out of the car with Clementine's hat in one hand.

''I just needed to grab Clem's-'' AJ's eyes widened as he looked over Duck's shoulder. ''LOOK OUT!''

Duck turned around just in time to see a walker coming up to grab him. He put one arm up to keep it from biting him and Clementine but he wouldn't be able to hold it off for long. AJ pulled out his gun and was about to fire when an arrow pierced through the side of the walkers head and fell down.

The boys turned to where the arrow came from and saw a boy and girl standing just a few feet away. They both had blonde hair and looked to be about Duck's age. The boy had a bow in one hand and the girl had a meat cleaver.

''Who are-'' Duck tried but the girl cut him off.

''Marlon, we gotta go now!'' She said to the boy as walkers were getting closer.

The boy, Marlon, nodded at the girl and looked at them. ''Come with us if you want to live.'' He said.

Seeing there wasn't really any other choice, Duck and AJ followed to the two strangers away from the walkers and to what they hoped was safety.


	2. Episode 1: Part 2

The four didn't stop running until they came upon a large building situated in the middle of the woods. It had large walls surrounding it and an iron gate in the front. Marlon opened the gate and lead them through before closing it again.

''How's your friend holding up?'' He asked, looking at Clementine's unconscious form.

She started bleeding from a cut on the side of her head now.

''She needs help. Fast.'' Duck told him urgently.

''Okay,'' Marlon said and looked to the girl. ''Vi, go get Tenn and Ruby and tell them to come to the twin's old room. We'll put her there for the time being.''

Vi nodded and walked off. Marlon then looked back at Duck and AJ.

''You guys follow me.''

He started walking with the two boys in tow.

''Think we can trust these people?'' AJ asked in a whisper as to not let Marlon hear.

''I'm not sure yet. But if they can help Clem then we'll just have to.'' Duck said.

They followed Marlon into the building and to what Duck guessed was the Dorms. Marlon opened the door to one of the rooms and they went inside. There were two bunk beds on both sides of the room, a desk and an empty shelf.

''You can set her down on one of the beds.'' Said Marlon.

Duck did just that and made sure to be gentle. He checks Clementine's pulse again just to be sure there was still one.

Marlon spoke again,'' We didn't get to properly introduce ourselves. My name is Marlon, though you probably already know that.''

He extended a hand out to Duck, who looked at him for a moment before deciding to shake it.

''I'm Kenny. But you can just call me Duck. This is AJ and Clementine.''

''Cool nickname.''

Duck shrugged. ''I get that a lot.''

Just then the door opened and the girl from earlier, Vi, stepped in along with two other young strangers. One was a boy with dark skin and a burn on the side of his face. The other was a chubby girl with red hair. She had a first aid kit in one hand and looked at the two boys and Clementine then to Marlon.

''Vi said you had an injured one?'' She asked in a southern accent.

Marlon nodded. ''Yep. This is Duck, A.J and Clementine. Duck and AJ, this is Violet, Ruby, and Tennessee. Tenn for short.''

Ruby and Tenn said 'hello' while Violet just nodded at them. Ruby went over and inspected the cut on Clementine's head.

''Cut doesn't look too deep. Might just need to disinfect and bandage it up.'' She said.

''Come on. We should just give some privacy.'' Marlon said to Duck and AJ, motioning to the door.

''I want to stay with Clem!'' AJ protested.

Duck placed a hand his shoulder to calm him, ''AJ, it's fine. I'm sure she's in good hands.''

A.J was hesitant. The three of them seldom left each other's sights for very long. But he agreed to be lead outside by Marlon, who shut the door behind them.

''So these are the guests Vi was talking about.'' Said a new voice. Duck turned to see another boy wearing a brown coat approach them.

''Duck, A.J, this is Louis, Marlon introduced them. ''Do you mind showing them around? I need to check and make sure no walkers followed us here.''

''Yeah, no problem.'' Louis replied.

Marlon thanked him and left. Louis escorted them around the place as he promised.

''Oh yeah, allow me to be the first to officially welcome to you to Ericson's Boarding School for Troubled Youth.'' He said.

So this place was a boarding school. That explained why the only people they've seen so far were kids.

''Are there any adults here?'' Duck asked.

''There used to be. But now it's just us kids. We get by well enough, though. Thanks to Marlon,'' Louis explained. ''And what about you guys?''

''We've been on the road for a really long time.''

Louis' eyes lit up and he gave a smile. ''On the road? That sounds exciting.''

''It's not.'' AJ murmured.

''Oh,'' Louis said, his smile faltering slightly. ''I'll take your word for it, little man.''

After walking through hallways with the walls littered with various profane writing (A lot of which involved the word 'ass'), He led them to a large room with piles of books stacked all around. But what was really eye-catching was the old piano that stood by the fireplace.

''What is that?'' AJ asked as he saw the instrument.

''That, little man, is a piano. Also known as 'Louis' pride and joy'.'' Louis replied.

''Pee-yano?''

Duck explained,'' It's a musical instrument. When you tap on those black and white keys, it makes music.''

''Wanna see how it works?'' Louis asked the boy.

Before AJ could reply Louis had already sat down by his 'pride and joy' and started playing. Duck had to admit, Louis was pretty good at it. He noticed AJ had been completely entranced the soothing melody. This was the first time the boy ever heard what a piano sounded like.

Just then, the girl they met earlier, Ruby, came from behind the two.

''Well, I patched your friend-Aaahh!''

AJ, who got surprised, bit Ruby's hand. The girl's loud and pained curses made Louis abruptly stop playing to see what just happened.

''What the fuck was that for!?'' Ruby yelled, rubbing her bitten hand.

''You snuck up on me!''

''The hell I did!'' She said angrily then looked to Duck. ''Teach that little motherfucker some manners will ya?''

Before Duck could utter a word, Ruby stomped out of the room, still cursing.

''A.J,'' He gave the boy a stern look. ''Why would you do that?''

''She came up behind me and I freaked out.'' AJ said, staring down at his shoes as children would often do when they were in trouble.

Duck sighed and knelt down to his level, ''I know you got scared. But we can't just go around biting people, especially after they helped us. Promise me you won't do it again?''

AJ nodded slowly. ''I promise.''

Louis whistled. ''Well, that was...something.''

He then went back to playing the piano. A few minutes passed by when a familiar face entered the room.

''Clem!'' AJ exclaimed happily when he saw her.

She had her head bandaged and a blood spot on the side where the cut was. AJ rushed over to hug her.

''You're okay!''

''Of course, I'm okay!'' Clementine said smiling. ''And do you know what you are?''

''What?''

''ticklish!''

AJ let out fits of laughter when Clementine began to tickle his sides. Duck couldn't help but smile at the two. Clementine ceased her tickle attack and faced him.

''Back at the car crash, I really thought you were...'' He couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence.

Clementine hugged him. ''Hey, I'm not going anywhere. Not anytime soon.''

''So you're not dead. That's good.'' Louis said, no longer playing. ''I'm Louis. Watched your boys for you.''

''Clementine. And thanks. I hope they were behaving.'' Clementine said.

''We're standing right here.'' Duck muttered.

''Let's just say I got off light compared what happened to Ruby.'' Louis said looking at AJ.

''AJ, That girl told me you bit her. Is that true?'' Clementine asked.

The little boy went back staring at the ground in shame. Duck decided to step in.

''I already had a talk with him about it and he promised no more bites. Right, AJ?''

''Yeah. No more bites.'' AJ replied.

Louis continued to play the same music. Clementine frowned.

''Don't you know any others?'' She asked.

''Well, there is one.'' He took a deep breath then started playing.

_''Oh my darling. Oh my darling._

_Oh my darling, Clementine._

_You were lost and gone forever._

_Dreadful sorry, Clementine._

_Light she was and like a fairy._

_And her shoes were number nine._

_Herring boxes without topses._

_Sandals were for Clementine.''_

After Louis was done, Duck turned to AJ. ''So what do you think, AJ?'' He asked.

''It's really loud,'' The boy replied. ''Isn't that a bad thing?''

''Not all the time.'' Clementine reassured.

''Wanna try it out?'' Louis asked AJ with an inviting smile.

AJ was taken aback and looked to Duck and Clementine for help, they both nodded and he nervously went to tap a key, then another, then a few more. He really seemed to enjoy it.

''Hey!'' Marlon called from behind them. ''We got a bit of a situation outside. Walkers. A lot of them,'' He looked at Clementine. ''I hate to ask with you coming to and all but...you guys mind helping us take out a few deadheads?''

She and Duck shared a look before nodding.

''Not at all.'' Duck answered.

* * *

They gathered their weapons before heading out. Duck loaded his crossbow and tucked a knife into his waistband, Clementine had her own knife, Marlon had a bow and some arrows and Louis had a chair leg with nails at the end. Upon stepping out the front doors, the sun was setting and the sound of familiar undead groaning could be heard. Marlon wasn't joking when he said there was a lot of them. Violet stood, waiting for them by the gate with her cleaver in hand.

''We got hunting party out that can't get in unless we clear the place,'' He told them. ''There seems to be a lot more than usual.''

''Gee, I wonder why. It's not like there was a car crash that got their attention.'' Violet said as she glared at Duck and Clementine.

Clementine frowned. ''We didn't want that to happened.''

''But we're sorry.'' Duck added apologetically. It technically was their fault for bringing the walkers close to their home.

''You sure know how to make friends don't you, Vi?'' Louis said, shaking his head.

Just then a boy standing up on the guard post called down to them. ''Alright, boys and girls. They're starting to fill in!''

Marlon opened the gate and they headed out. AJ was about to follow but Clementine stopped him.

''AJ, you stay inside.'' She told him.

''But I can help!'' AJ protested.

''I know you can. That's why you need to be our eyes and ears from here.''

AJ was upset but agreed to stay behind. Duck patted him on the shoulder.

''Don't worry, we'll be back soon.''

The walkers began closing in as soon as they spotted fresh, living meat close by them. Duck did his best at thinning out their numbers while Clementine dealt with the remaining ones. He looked over to see how the others were doing. Marlon kept his distance and took out walkers from afar, Louis took time to taunt the dead before bashing their heads in with 'Chairles', Violet on the other didn't bother with words and let her cleaver do all the talking. All in all, these people seemed to know what they doing.

In the distance, there were three lights that looked to be from torches getting close to them. It had to have been the hunting party.

''Let's meet them halfway!'' Marlon said before taking off, the others following close behind.

They met up with the hunting party that consisted of two boys and one girl with auburn hair holding a dead rabbit over her shoulder. They were all armed with bows and arrows.

''Where the did all these walkers come from?'' The girl asked.

''And who the hell are those two?'' The one boy with short brown asked while looking at Clementine and Duck.

''I explain later. Right now, we gotta clear out the last of these deadheads before more show up.'' Marlon told them.

The group began making their way back to the school, taking out any stragglers along the way with relative ease. Duck shot a lone walker in the head and went to retrieve the bolt when he felt a pair of hands grab his leg, he let out a yell surprised yell as a walker with its legs broken managed to pull him to the ground and started to crawl up to him. But Duck keep them separate with the crossbow, this didn't deter the walker from attempting to bite his nose. Duck knew he wouldn't be able to hold the walker off like this forever and frantically tried to push it off him but to no avail. Then someone stuck an arrow into the back of the walkers head, making it go limp.

Duck pushed the corpse off him and saw the girl from the hunting stood by and offered a hand up. ''You okay?''

''Yeah. Fucker just surprised me.'' He said, accepting her hand.

Once on his feet, Duck saw Clementine also struggling against a walker until a large dog leaped from out of nowhere and savagely ripped its head off. The dog then looked up at Clementine, who now stood frozen in fear, and growled menacingly.

''Rosie!'' Marlon shouted and pet the dog to calm down. ''It's okay, girl, she's friendly.''

Once all the walkers were killed and everyone regrouped, Marlon spoke again. ''Good job, everyone. Now lets head. I'm fucking starving.''

Duck immediately felt his stomach begin to grumble. Today's excitements made him forget just how hungry he was. Until now.

''How did it go out there?'' Marlon asked as they walked back.

''How do you think it went?'' The boy with short black hair said sourly.

''Be nice, Aasim.'' The girl scowled at him.

''The safe zone's nearly dry and we could barely find any food for tonight. If we don't scout further then we're not gonna have anything for winter.'' The boy, Aasim, explained.

''We'll talk about it later.'' Marlon said dismissively.

''Bullshit!'' Aasim exclaimed and stepped in front of him. ''We need to talk about this right now!''

''I said later, dammit!'' Marlon roughly brushed past him.

Aasim muttered something under his breath and continued walking.

''What's that all about?'' Duck asked the girl next to him.

''Don't worry about it. Aasim just overreacts sometimes.'' She reassured him and smiled. ''I'm Brody.''

''Kenny. But just call me Duck.''

''Duck?'' Brody chuckled. ''That's..quite a nickname.''

''I get that a lot.''


	3. Episode 1: Part 3

The group returned to the school where AJ eagerly waited. He ran up to Duck and Clementine, happy to see them both alright.

''These guys are pretty good against monsters.'' He commented.

''Yeah. They certainly are.'' Duck agreed.

Marlon came walking from behind them.

''C'mon, y'all, foods nearly-'' He didn't get to finish when AJ elbowed him in the groan for touching his shoulder.

The scene caused Duck to wince. When AJ realized who was actually behind him, he panicked and ran away.

''AJ!'' Clementine called after him.

''Are you okay?"' Duck asked Marlon, who was bent over and breathing deeply.

''Not really. For a kid so small, he packs a goddamn wallop.''

''Sorry about that. AJ really doesn't like it when you come up behind him.'' Clementine explained.

''I see that,'' Marlon took a deep and stood up straight. ''I'm just gonna...walk it off.''

When he was gone, Duck turned to Clementine. ''Well, at least he didn't bite him.'' He joked.

''Right. Because that's _so_ much worse than getting elbowed in the groin,'' Clementine said dryly, then sighed and looked over at AJ who staring out at through the gate. ''I'll go talk him.''

Duck decided to take a stroll around the place, maybe chat with the locals. He wound up by the spot the boy from the hunting party and the younger boy from the guard post were sitting. The older was busy carving what looked to be a knife of some kind while the younger one watched with fascination.

''Hey.'' Duck greeted them.

The older boy gazed up at him with an expressionless look. ''Hey. You're one of the new guys.''

''Yeah...''

''I'm Mitch,'' He tilted his head to the younger boy. ''That's Willy.''

''Names Duck,'' The pair shared a funny look and before either of them could say anything, Duck quickly raised a hand. ''Yeah, yeah, I know.''

''Woah! That's a cool crossbow!'' Willy said as he spotted weapon on Ducks back.

''Uh, thanks.''

''Can I hold it? Just for a few minutes?''

''I'm kind of attached to it, sorry.'' Duck told him.

''Please!'' Willy begged. ''I promise I won't fire it! Okay, maybe just once.''

Duck sighed. He guessed maybe it wasn't such a big deal to let the kid hold it for a little while. And it probably would help get on these peoples good side.

''Fine. But I want it back later.''

Duck handed his crossbow to the excited boy. Even Mitch stopped with his knife carving to have a chance to hold it. He decided to leave the two alone for the time being.

The boy from earlier, Aasim, was sitting in a chair writing down something in a book when Duck approached.

''Hi.''

It took a moment before Aasim rose his head to look at him.

''Oh, hello.'' He greeted, then went back to writing.

''So...whatcha doing?'' Duck asked him.

''Just writing down what happened today. I like to chronicle everything.''

''Like a journal?''

''Yep.''

The pair shared a moment of silence. Duck thought about what else to talk about until something came up.

''You seemed pretty mad with Marlon earlier.'' He said.

Aasim stopped his writing and looked to where Marlon was sitting. ''He keeps pulling back the safe zone. Now we have fewer places to hunt.''

''Why does he do it then?''

''We...lost two people last year,'' Aasim said, he stared down at his book sadly. ''Ever since then, he's been trying to make sure we didn't 'take unnecessary risks'. If only he took the risk of us starving into consideration.''

Duck thought about it for a moment. He could understand Marlon was just trying to keep his group safe, but if they were already having a food shortage, along with the addition of three extra mouths to feed, then the coming days would be hard on them. He then wondered if he, Clementine and AJ could actually stay here. It was a nice place, with nice people. And this was the first settlement they came across since the Ranch. Though he doubted that place could still be considered a settlement after what happened.

''I should probably leave you to finish with your writing. It was nice chatting.''

Aasim said a quiet 'bye' and continued what he was doing.

He spotted Clementine and Violet standing behind AJ and Tenn who were placing flowers on two graves. Curious, he made his way over to them.

''Who's buried here?'' He asked.

Violet answered, ''Sophie and Minerva's belongings. Tenn's twin sisters. We lost 'em both about a year ago.''

Duck remembered Aasim mention two people they lost. Now he knew their names.

''AJ's helping pay respects.'' Clementine added.

When AJ was done, Tenn and Violet thanked him and the three left them alone to mourn in peace.

''Ready to go talk to Marlon?'' Clementine asked AJ.

''Yeah.'' The boy replied.

They walked over to Marlon and Brody who sitting on the steps talking with Rosie laying close by. Brody was the first to spot them approaching.

''Clementine, right? I'm Brody,'' She introduced herself and turned to AJ.''And this must be AJ. I heard he's a sweet a little fella. Figured there ain't a lot of room for that still out there.''

''I'm lucky to have him. He's just a naturally good boy.'' Clementine said smiling and ruffled AJ's hair. Much to the little boy's annoyance.

''What about me?'' Duck asked, pretending to sound hurt.

Clementine rolled her eyes. ''Fine. Make that _two_ naturally good boys.''

Brody laughed at that. After a short while, AJ nervously spoke up.

''I'm really sorry I hit you,'' He said apologetically. ''Can we please stay here and eat dinner and not go out into the forest and get killed by monsters?''

_Jesus, AJ, way to lay it on thick. _Duck couldn't help think.

Marlon and Brody looked at each other before the former spoke with a warm smile. ''Don't sweat it, buddy. You can make it up to me by teaching me that technique of yours.''

The three felt relieved knowing that they were still in Marlon's good books.

''Stew's done!'' Louis called out.

''About damn time.'' Marlon said, standing up.

* * *

Everyone sat in different groups at separated tables. Duck, Clementine, and AJ sat with Marlon and Ruby while Louis served them bowls of stew. The trio wolfed down their food while the rest stared at them in shock.

''I take it y'all haven't eaten in a while.'' Ruby noted.

When AJ was finished, Louis let him have his bowl too, stating he was full. AJ happily accepted and was finished again in no time. After licking his lips clean he asked, ''Now what?''

''I'll tell you what,'' Louis said as he flipped his chair around and pulled out a deck of card from his pocket. ''Time for something very important.''

''Oh, god. Goodnight.'' Brody said as she walked by.

Several others also left for bed while Violet eagerly joined in.

''Whats the game tonight, Lou?'' Marlon asked.

''War,'' Louis replied in a deep, dramatic tone. ''The oldest game around. A game played by man and beast alike. The only game there is.''

Duck and Clementine shared a look of confusion. The latter asked, ''So how do you play?''

''It's easy. Everyone gets a stack of cards. Everyone flips one over. Highest card wins.'' Violet explained.

''And the winner gets to ask you two a question.'' Louis added, and received odd looks his way.''What? I wanna know you. We all do.''

''And if one of us wins?'' Duck asked him.

''Then you get to ask us one. It's only fair.''

''Wait, what about A-'' Clementine said when she noticed AJ was no longer with them. Instead, he sat with Tenn at the other table and watched him draw on a piece of paper.

''Looks like he's found himself a friend.'' Duck commented with a smile. It felt nice knowing the boy had someone his own age to talk to for once.

The two agreed to play with. Once Louis was done giving everyone a stack, they all flipped, Violet had the highest.

''Way to go me,'' She said with a smirk. ''So, Duck, how did you end up with a name like that?''

''My parents gave it to me,'' He answered. ''I used to be a really hyper kid. Nothing ever seemed to phase me. You know, 'like water off a duck's back'.''

They continued playing several more times. Clementine won once and then it was Louis' turned. He thought of what to ask, and when he did he seemed nervous to say it.

''C'mon on, spit it out!'' Violet said impatiently.

''So, uh...are you two...together?'' He asked them. ''You know like, _together_ together?''

''What!?'' Duck and Clementine said almost in unison, both were blushing slightly.

''Oh my god.'' Violet shook her head in disbelief.

''Hey! There's no way I was the only one thinking that!'' Louis said defensively.

''To answer your question: No, we're not _together_.'' Duck said. And it was true. Throughout all their years and all the things they've experienced, he never saw Clementine as anything more than a sister.

The game went on. Marlon won one, then Duck, Violet, and once again it was Louis's turn.

''I am the greatest card player of all time.''

''Just ask your damn question.'' Violet said with annoyance.

''Ever...'' Louis then stopped himself. ''Actually, never mind.''

''What? Ask it.'' Clementine said.

''It's not a fun question.'' He warned.

''Ask.''

Louis sighed. ''Ever had to kill someone you loved?''

Everyone was stunned into silence. Duck could feel a sudden rush of heat in his face. That question made him think of his mother. It made him think of the bite wound that could've been his if she hadn't gotten between him and a walkers hungry maw. It made him think of how all he could do was watch as her life slowly slipped away. It made him think of his final goodbye to her and hearing the gunshot that finally put an end to her suffering. Something inside him just...snapped.

''What the fuck?'' He growled, getting their attention. ''Why the hell would you ask that?''

''I'm sorry!'' Louis raised his hands in defense. ''I just thought-''

Duck stood up and glared at him. His anger reached a boiling point.

''Just thought it'd be funny to know if we ever to kill our own loved ones?'' He interrupted. ''Is that it? Well, guess what? It's fucking not!''

''Duck, stop!'' Clementine said almost pleadingly as she put a hand on his shoulder.

It was then Duck came to his senses. He inhaled then exhaled, and sunk back down. His anger dissipated as quickly as it came.

''We're done playing.'' Clementine said and got up to leave. Duck followed her.

AJ and Tenn, having heard Duck's outburst, had their heads turned to the older kids direction. Clementine called for him to come along and he reluctantly complied, bidding Tenn goodnight.

Marlon caught up to them as they walked.

''I hope you know Louis didn't mean any harm there,'' He said. ''He's just the world's biggest dumbass sometimes. He my best friend, so I can legally call him that.''

Duck soon realized he forgot something.''Ah, shit.'' He said softly.

''What is it?'' Clementine asked him.

''I lent one of the boys, Willy, my crossbow and didn't get it back.''

Marlon shook his head, ''No problem. I'll take you to his room.''

''Thanks,'' Duck said then turned to Clementine and AJ. ''I'll see you guys soon.''

They both nodded and went their separate ways. Duck followed Marlon until they stopped by one of the dorms. Marlon knocked on the door then waited. A few seconds later it opened and Willy stood on the other side.

''I believe you have something you forgot to give back?'' Marlon said.

Willy looked at him confused. Then he saw Duck and his eyes widened.

''Oh! Sorry!'' He left then came shortly afterward with the crossbow. ''Thanks for letting me borrow it.''

''No problem.'' Duck said as he took it back.

''You should go get some sleep. In the morning we'll talk about your long-term stay here.'' Marlon told him.

Duck looked at him surprised. ''You're really letting us stay?''

''We can talk about it.'' Marlon smiled, then left.

* * *

Duck was glad he remembered where his room was. Upon entering, he was surprised to find Violet was inside as well. She was holding a large box in one hand.

''I should get going. Thanks again for the box.'' She said before leaving.

''Hey, Duck, I'm an artist!'' AJ said and held out a sheet of paper for him to see.

''Really? That's so cool!'' Duck took a better look at it. It was a drawing of what looked like AJ protecting Duck and Clementine from a horde of walkers. ''What are you gonna do with it?''

''Hang it on the wall. Make our home a little prettier.''

''That sounds like a good idea.'' Clementine said smiling.

She took the drawing and pinned it on the wall by the desk and the told AJ it was time to sleep. The little boy nodded and went over to one of the bunk beds. But instead of getting on it, he went and laid underneath it.

''AJ? What are doing?'' Duck asked, going over and kneeling down to look at him.

''This is where I'm sleeping.'' He replied.

''What? Why? You've got a bed right here.''

''I feel safer down here. No one can get me.''

''AJ, it's fine. We're already safe,'' Clementine reassured him. ''There are plenty of brick walls to keep out any danger.''

''But what about the door? What if someone comes in and tries to hurt us?'' The little boy pressed.

Duck guessed AJ wasn't comfortable yet in their new environment. ''Okay, AJ, how about this: You sleep on the bed while I keep watch and make sure no one comes in. Sound good?'' He asked.

''But aren't you tired too?''

''Nah, I'm good. Promise.'' He lied.

AJ thought about it for a moment before nodding. ''Okay.''

He got up from the floor and plonked himself on the mattress. Clementine slept on the other bed while Duck sat down by the desk and placed his crossbow down next to him.

''This place is nice,'' AJ said.'' I'm glad we found it.''

''Yeah, me too.'' Clementine agreed.

''Me three.''

A few minutes went by and Duck let out a yawn. He stared down at the desk in front and noticed a few more papers along with coloring pencils. He hadn't drawn since he was a little. Realizing he didn't have anything better to do, Duck grabbed a pencil and paper and thought about what to draw.


	4. Episode 1: Part 4

At some point during his 'watch', Duck had fallen asleep. He woke up the next morning stretching his arms and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He looked around and was surprised to see Clementine and AJ weren't around. They must've left without him. Just as Duck was about to stand up, he noticed two sheets of papers with different drawings laying in front of him.

It confused him at first until he remembered it was he that drew them to pass the time last night. He inspected the drawings. One was of Batman and Robin, while the other one was Superman fighting Goku.

Duck chuckled as he put the drawings down and got up to leave. He bumped into Marlon not long afterward.

''Marlon.'' He greeted.

''You're finally awake.'' Marlon said.

''Yeah, sorry. Guess I was really tired.''

''After a day like yesterday, can't say I blame you.''

He told Duck to follow him to his office, which Marlon explained was previously the headmasters' office until he and several other adults left the children to fend for themselves when the apocalypse started.

''Have you seen Clementine and AJ?'' Duck asked him.

''They went hunting with Louis and Aasim. I'm afraid you just missed 'em.''

''They left without me?'' He felt a little upset that they did that.

''Yeah. Clem told me you needed to rest,'' Marlon said. ''Violet and Brody are leaving to go spearfishing in a few minutes. If you're feeling up for it I'm sure they could use an extra pair of hands.''

Duck understood he needed to pull his weight around here if he wanted to stay. ''Sounds good. I'll go find them.''

''Wait,'' Marlon stopped him and gave a serious look. ''I'm not gonna sugar-coat it, our food shortage is a serious problem. Now with you, Clem, and AJ here that means more mouths we need to feed. Hopefully, you can help feed the rest.''

Duck remembered Marlon and Aasim arguing about there being too little food to hunt the previous night. At least Marlon was taking the issue seriously.

''You don't have to worry. We'll do our best.'' He said honestly.

Marlon smiled at that.

''That's what I like to hear. You should get going. Vi and Brody might leave any minute now.''

* * *

Duck went outside the school and spotted the two girls making heading to the gate. He rushed over and caught up to them.

''Hey guys!'' He called, getting them to stop. ''Marlon said you were going finishing. Mind if I tag along?''

''Shouldn't you be with Clem and AJ?'' Violet asked. ''No offense but you three seem to stick to together like glue.''

''They left earlier to hunt with Aasim and Louis.''

Brody smiled. ''Well, you're more than welcome to come with. The more, the merrier. Right?''

''Right.'' Violet replied with a little less enthusiasm.

The three left the safe confines of the boarding school and into the forest. They didn't need to fear any threats from walkers since the area was cleared out the previous night. Ducks still kept his eyes peeled and his ears open. Years of wandering and scavenging taught him to never let his guard down when out in the open. But the peace around made him relax a little.

''You know, I wish we could all go on a road trip together.'' Brody said suddenly.

Violet scoffed. ''Why bother? It's not like there's anything worth seeing anymore.''

''I'm sure there's plenty of stuff to see,'' Brody disagreed and turned to Duck. ''You've out on the road awhile, right Duck? Maybe you and Clem could show us around.''

''I don't know,'' Duck said. ''The last working car around is probably still up in smoke. But why would you want to leave the school anyway? It's safe.''

''It's just that there's a lot of other places out there.'' Brody said.

''Yeah, with a lot of walkers.'' Violet added.

''Buzzkill.''

After a while, the shack they used to store fishing equipment came into view. They passed by a rusty pickup truck that's seen better days.

Brody stopped and examined it. ''I wish this old rust bucket was still working. We could all just hop in start driving. Maybe even take turns.''

''Where would we even go?'' Duck asked.

''Anywhere,'' She replied. ''Where would you want to go?''

Duck gave the question some thought. When he was little, almost every weekend, he and his parents would go to different beaches. He had a lot of fond memories of those days and just thinking about them brought a smile to his lips.

''The coast. Give me a warm, sunny beach any day.''

''That sounds nice.'' Brody smiled. ''I prefer driving up those mountains with the long winding roads. I bet you could see the whole world from the top.''

''Hey! We've got shit to do so can you two quit it with the chit-chatting?'' Vi said impatiently.

Brody's smile faded. ''She's right. We got spears inside the shack.''

Duck followed her while Violet said she'd wait outside. The inside of the shack wasn't exactly tidy. Boxes and chair laid around the place, vegetation was growing inside, and writing on the walls similar to the boarding school.

''Hey, about Vi...'' Brody started. ''I'm sorry if she's being a little mean. It's my fault.''

''Your fault? How?'' Duck asked, confused. He had noticed Violet's attitude towards the other girl but didn't want to say anything about it.

''I was there when those walkers killed Sophie and Minnie. Vi was really close to them and...I think she blames me for what happened to them.''

''Damn. That's...really fucked up.'' Was all Duck felt he could say.

Brody let out a humorless chuckle. ''Yeah, it is. We all used to be such good friends. I was the one who had to break the news to her. And ever since I did, she's become distant.'' She then gave a nervous look. ''I'd hate to ask this of you. But do you think you could...talk to her? See how she feels about me?''

Duck felt torn. Part of him thought it would be best to not get involved between the two, but another part wanted to help fix their friendship. With a sigh, he made his decision.

''I'll try.'' He said.

''Really? That's great!'' Brody's eyes lit up. ''Thanks, Duck.''

They found the spears and went back outside. Duck and Violet stood by the stream while Brody went to fish further up. Duck could see a few fish swimming just below the surface. He just hoped he could actually catch one with a spear.

''You ever do this before?'' Violet asked him.

Duck shook his head. ''No. But I'm pretty good with a fishing pole if you got any of those lying around.''

''Sorry, you'll just have to make do with what you got. At least the fish are swimming against the current. That'll make 'em easier targets.''

He waited patiently, spear raised and ready to strike. A lone fish slowed down almost to a stop, Duck stabbed at it and was happy to see he caught it. Beside him, Violet also got lucky and caught a fish of her own. They put their catches into a metal bucket behind them.

''Heads up, guys, the hauls not looking that great!'' Brody called.

''God,'' Violet groaned. ''Sometimes she can really get on my nerves. 'I wish we could all go on a road trip together'. She's just so...ugh.''

Duck decided maybe now was the time to talk to her. ''She stills feels guilty, you know?'' He said.

''About what?'' Violet frowned at him.

''About happened to the twins.''

She looked surprised at the mention of them.

''Is that what she told you?''

''More or less,'' Duck replied. ''She also thinks you blame her for what happened to them.''

''I don't blame _her_. I blame myself,'' Violet sighed and put her spear down. ''I was supposed to be out with the twins that day. Instead, I wanted to work in the greenhouse so I asked Brody to cover for me. But then...''

''So you think you being with them instead would've changed things?'' Duck asked.

''I don't know. Maybe?''

''I know how you feel. There's plenty of things I wish could've gone differently,'' Duck immediately thought about the attack on the Motor Inn, when his mother shielded him from the walker. ''But I can't change of any of that, and neither can you. All we can do is move forward. While we still can.''

''I don't know how to. It's like...every time I'm around her, I'm always reminded about who we lost.'' Violet said softly.

''Maybe just talk to Brody about it. It's not good to keep stuff like that bottled up.''

Violet stared at the stream, probably thinking about what Duck had said. Neither of them talked for a while after that. Best to focus on the task at hand. The fish were swimming faster and were getting harder to catch. When they decided to call it a day, they only managed to catch five fish. Brody returned from her fishing spot.

''You guys catch anything?'' She asked.

Violet nodded. ''We caught some, but not a lot.''

''I didn't get anything. Let's catch up with Louis and the others. See if they had any better luck.''

After putting spears back in the shack, the three started to head back into the forest.

''The Grand Canyon.'' Violet said.

''What?"' Brody looked at her, confused.

''That's where I'd go. If we ever took a road trip together.''

Brody blinked, then smiled. ''Yeah. that would be cool.''

Once Violet was ahead of them, Brody whispered a ''Thanks'' to Duck. Who couldn't help but smile as well for helping out.

* * *

Along the way, Duck noticed several of the snares the kids at the school set up to catch rabbits and squirrels. They should've come across the others by now but none of them were anywhere to be seen.

''What the hell?'' Violet said as they came upon one of the snares. The rope looked as though it had been cut.

''What's wrong?'' Duck asked.

''Someone sabotaged this. This isn't good.'' She said.

''Aasim! Louis!'' Brody called out but got no response.

''Clementine! AJ!'' Duck yelled but got the same result. He was starting to worry.

''Spread out. See if we can find them.'' Violet said and headed straight.

Brody went a different direction and so did Duck. He noticed an empty snare with blood close to it. But something else caught his eye. He knelt down and noticed there was a used cigarette butt lying on a small rock.

''What the...?'' Duck picked it and took a closer look. It wasn't a normal cigarette but was made of rolled up pages from a book. A bible to be more specific.

He put it in his pocket and got up to inspect the other traps for more clues. There was one a walker dangling upside down with a sharp stick through its mouth. Duck called the others to come and look and both were shocked at what he found.

''Well, we didn't kill this one. We wouldn't have left it hanging.'' Violet said.

''I found this by one of your traps,'' Duck showed them the cigarette butt. ''Anybody in your group smoke?''

Brody was quiet but Violet shook her head. ''Nope. There's nothing _to_ smoke.''

''Who's this unlucky fella?'' The three of them almost jumped when Aasim's voice came from behind them.

He showed up Louis. Clementine and AJ arrived shortly after.

''There you guys are.'' Duck said, relieved.

''Where the hell have you been?'' Violet asked.

''Checking the nearby traps,'' Aasim answered. ''The ones that were all sprung are empty. All the rest are broken.''

''Someone robbed us?'' Brody gasped, she started walking around and mumbling to herself. ''Fuck that's...fuck...fuck!''

''Hey, easy. We'll still find food to get us through the-'' Clementine tried to calm her down but got cut off.

''That's not what I'm worried about!'' She snapped.

''Brody, just chill.'' Violet said

Brody took a deep breath. ''I have to tell Marlon about this.''

''We still need food. You know, to live? We definitely don't have enough here.'' Louis said.

''You guys figure it out.'' She said and angrily stormed off.

''What was that all about?'' Duck asked, completely shocked by Brody's sudden outburst.

''She has these panic attacks every time she's really freaked out about something. It rarely happens though.'' Violet explained.

''I'll take what food we have back to school. Maybe we can ration out something.'' Aasim said as he took the bucket of fish and the dead rabbit he caught earlier and followed Brody.

''So what are we supposed to do? Eat rocks?'' Louis asked with his arm crossed.

''You can't rocks.'' AJ stated.

''I'm aware.''

Clementine pulled out a folded map from her pocket and looked at it for a minute.

''The train station. It's not too far from here.'' She said.

''You wanna go there? Why?'' Duck asked.

''You saw how much food there was.''

''Yeah, blown up. And even some survived, the place is probably crowded with walkers now.''

''We really don't have many options right now.''

Duck said nothing more. They really didn't.

''The train station? That's outside the safe zone.'' Violet said.

''It's either that or we could starve.''

Violet looked to Louis, who simply shrugged. She let out a sigh.

''Fuck it. Let's go.''

* * *

The sun had gone down by the time the group reached the train station. The sounds of walkers were getting louder the closer they got.

''We're gonna die.'' Louis muttered.

''Thanks for the vote confidence, Lou.'' Violet rolled her eyes.

''Clem, maybe and I should take a closer look.'' Duck said.

Clementine nodded and the two made their way to the front of the train, careful not make any noise or be spotted. A group of walkers, fifteen by the looks of it, was all that stood between them and the station.

''Think we can take them?'' Clementine asked.

''Too many. And it doesn't look like there's any way to sneak past.'' Duck replied. He mentally cursed himself for leaving his crossbow at the school but was glad he at least had enough sense to bring his knife along.

''Distraction?''

''Distraction.''

Satisfied, the two returned to the group.

''So what's the plan?'' Louis asked.

Clementine told them, ''The noise from that bell could draw a lot of walkers. If one us of us climbs up there and starts ringing it...''

''Louis. I vote Louis.'' Violet said quickly.

Louis was none too pleased. ''Can I make an alternate suggestion?''

''I'll do it.'' Duck volunteered.

''Wait! Let me come with you,'' Louis insisted. ''You know, watch your back?''

Duck didn't feel like wasting time arguing so he just agreed. He told Clementine and the rest to wait while until he and Louis were in position before leaving. Louis grabbed the old bell along the way. When they reached the cart, Duck boosted Louis up, who in return helped him climb up.

Once in position, the two boys began making as much noise as humanly possible. Louis once again finding time to taunt and crack jokes at the walkers expense. Either way, it got their attention and the others were able to make it safely into the station.

''They're inside. All we gotta do now is wait.'' Duck said.

''At least we got some company.'' Louis gestured to the group of walkers below, still trying to get their hands on the two.

A minute passed and Louis spoke again.

''Hey, um, I know this probably isn't the best of times but...'' He said nervously. ''About what happened last night, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have asked been stupid and ask that question.''

''It's fine.'' Duck said.

''Really?''

''Really. Water under the bridge.''

Louis smiled, relieved that his apology was accepted. Time went by and the others still haven't come back. Duck didn't like it one bit. He was ready to jump down and rush to their aid if he heard just the slightest sound trouble. Not caring much about the walkers below him.

''What's taking them so long?'' Louis echoed both their thoughts.

Just then, a single person sprinted out of the building. But it wasn't one of their friends, that much was apparent. It was an adult male carrying a large duffel bag in hand and something small in other, a gun.

''Who the fuck is-'' Duck didn't get a chance to finish when he saw the Clementine, AJ, and Violet finally rush out of the building.

The two boys wasted no time and jumped down on the opposite side to meet up with them. A few walkers got in the way but they were quickly dispatched.

''What happened in there?'' Duck asked them.

''I'll explain later!'' Clementine said and they sprinted in the direction of the boarding school. Leaving the train station and the walkers behind with them.

When they were finally in the clear, Clementine explained everything to them. They had gotten all the intact food out when a man named Abel confronted them a gun. He took a bag of food from them and left.

''He had these different colored eyes and smoked these weird cigarettes.'' She added.

That last part caught Ducks interest.

''Cigarettes? I found one by the snares.'' He took out the cigarette from earlier and showed it to her. Clementine confirmed it was the same type.

''Must be the same guy that screwed with the traps.''

Duck didn't like the fact that this Abel threatened the two people he cared about with a gun and was still out there somewhere.

_That bastard better pray we don't cross paths. Or I'm gonna show him what happens when someone screws with my family._


	5. Episode 1: Part 5

Mitch was on guard duty when the group returned. He quickly went to open the gate once he saw them coming.

''Took y'all a while.'' Ruby said as they entered.

Louis smiled. ''How poor are they that have not patience.''

He and Clementine put the duffel bags on the table and opened them to reveal several jars of food. Everyone gathered, stunned by what they saw.

''That's like, a lot of food!'' Mitch said.

''Observant as ever, Mitch,'' Louis chuckled. ''You can thank the new guys for all of it.''

''You guys are awesome!'' Willy said to Clementine and Duck. Everyone else shared the same opinion.

The only person that didn't look happy was Brody, who stared at the food in disbelief.

''Where did you find all this?'' She asked.

''The old train station,'' Louis told her. ''Clem and Duck knew where it was.''

Brody's eyes widened. ''You went outside the safe zone!''

''We got food, didn't we?'' Violet said. ''And we would've more if we didn't run into that creep that fucked up our rabbit traps.''

''What creep?''

''Some guy smoking these nasty ass bible cigarettes and different colored eyes.'' Louis replied.

Brody stared at the gate as if expecting someone to suddenly show up, then looked back. ''Did he follow you?''

''No. He just took some food and ran off.'' Clementine said.

''You just let him get away? What the fuck?!'' Brody yelled, causing everyone to stare at her. Some quickly left to escape her outbursts. ''Now he knows we're out here, and will probably come back with more people!''

''There was nothing I could do! He had a gun!''

''Hey now, come on. I'm sure Clem did the best she could.'' Duck said calmly, stepping between the two.

''Bullshit!''

''Brody, enough!'' Marlon placed a hand on her arm. ''You are overreacting.''

Brody looked at Marlon with a hurt expression, which contorted to anger as she shoved him so hard, he fell to the ground. She then glared daggers at Duck and Clementine,'' If ANYTHING happens...I'm holding YOU PEOPLE responsible!'' She said angrily and stormed off.

Marlon got up shook his head.''Look, I know I asked you guys to help us. And you did. But...shit.''

''We're sorry for going outside the safe zone. There just weren't any other options.'' Clementine said.

''I understand. And thanks to you, we're at least eating tonight,'' He looked at the food and smiled a little.'' And for the next few, I'd wager. I need to to go talk to Brody. Enjoy the meal, you guys have earned it.''

Duck and Clementine joined the others by the table. Two steaming bowls of food were waiting for them but Duck wasn't feeling so hungry at moment. Brody's outburst left a bit of tension in the air as everyone ate in silence.

''Don't worry about Brody,'' Said Violet. ''Ever since Sophie and Minnie died, she freaks out every time something happens outside the safe zone.''

Once Aasim was finished eating, he stood and looked at the others. ''Hey, can somebody help me bring the rest of food to the kitchen?''

''I'll come.'' Duck said quickly.

He gave his half-finished bowl to AJ and followed Aasim into the school.

''So you guys really went outside the safe zone?'' Aasim asked as they carried the bags down the hallway.

Duck nodded. ''Yeah. To that old train station.''

''Damn. And I kept telling Marlon we should be willing to take risks from time to time. We might've found all this food earlier if we did.''

''Best you didn't. The place was booby-trapped when we first went there. We barely made it out alive after that.'' Duck told him.

''Booby-trapped?'' Aasim's eyes widened. ''On second thought, maybe Marlon's right about being careful. Especially now that we know there's someone else out there. I'm thinking about taking Rosie out tomorrow, see if she'll catch a sent.''

''Mind if I come with?'' Duck asked a little too eagerly. The chance to get his hands on that sorry bastard felt too good to pass up.

''Not at all,'' Aasim replied. ''You know, when you guys first showed up, I was a little worried.''

"Worried?'' Duck frowned.

''We barely had enough to feed ourselves. I thought things were gonna get a lot harder now that you were with us,'' Aasim then gave a genuine smile. ''But seeing all this food you guys brought back, made me realize how wrong I was. I actually got a good feeling about you now.''

''About me?''

''I mean, you know...you, Clem and AJ.'' Aasim explained, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

''Oh. Thanks, Aasim. I appreciate it.'' Duck smiled.

* * *

After he was done helping Aasim getting all the food into the kitchen, Duck returned to his room for some much-needed rest. This time he slept on the bunk above AJ and was out like a light. Sometime in the middle of the night however, Duck's eyes shot open as he had the sudden urge to pee. He quickly climbed down from the bed and put his boots on.

The noise woke AJ up and he stared at Duck with a tired look.

''Where are you going?'' AJ asked he rubbed his eyes.

''I just need to use the bathroom.''

''Should I come with you and make sure nothing bad happens?''

Duck shook his head.

''Nothing bad will happen,'' He reassured. ''Go back to sleep, AJ. I'll only be gone for a minute.''

''Fine,'' The young boy said. He then dug into his pocket and pulled out a small switchblade and held it out. ''But take this with. Just in case.''

''Where did you get that?'' Duck asked.

''Found it in the train station.''

Duck wanted to decline but he really needed to go and didn't want to argue with the boy. He took the switchblade and put it his own pocket before leaving. It then occurred to Duck that he didn't know where the school bathrooms were. He didn't have time to wander around the place finding one so he opted to relieve himself outside. Not that he wanted to do that, but when you gotta go, you gotta go.

Upon exiting the building, Duck immediately regretted not bringing his jacket with as a cold wind was blowing. He just needed to find a secluded corner, do his business and then run back inside. He scanned the yard for a good spot and decided the corner by the cellar was good enough. After he was done, Duck was starting to head back when he heard a noise coming from the cellar. No, not noise, voices. He could make out two distinct voice but not what they were saying.

_Who the hell's down there so late at night?_ He thought.

He reached out pulled open one of the doors, making sure to be as quiet as possible. Once it was fully opened and curiosity took over, Duck ventured down the steps. The inside was dark but he could make out old desks, chairs, and shelves all over the place. Ahead there was a moving light. A flashlight.

''Damn it, Brody! We don't even know for sure it was them!'' He recognized clearly as Marlon's voice.

''And he got away! How do we know he didn't follow them?'' Brody's voice was heard next. ''You know he's not alone. Those bastards are back and it's only a matter of time before they find us. You know that!''

''I don't know shit and neither do you!''

''We have to tell the others. About you did.''

Duck tried to be silent as he got closer. But his foot made contact with a chair he barely even saw and caused it to shift against the floor loudly. He let out a silent curse as the noise attracted the attention of other two, who were now silent. The flashlight's beam pointed at his direction but a large shelf standing between them obscured it.

''Who's there? Show yourself!'' Marlon demanded.

Seeing no point in hiding anymore, Duck revealed himself to them.

''Duck!"' Brody said with surprise.

''What the hell are you guys doing down here?'' He asked them.

''We were just talkin', go back to sleep.'' Marlon said. The last part sounded more like a demand than a request.

But Duck wasn't convinced in the slightest. ''Talking? In a dark basement and in the middle of the night?''

''Just needed a place to talk privately. Didn't want to go waking you guys up. You had a busy day after all,'' Marlon explained, trying to sound casual. ''Now go back to your dorm.''

''The man you met at the station. We got history with him.'' Brody said quickly.

''What?'' Duck's eyes widened.

''Brody!'' Marlon yelled at her. ''Don't listen to her. She just acts crazy sometimes. Best to just tune her out.''

''Marlon, do me and favor and shut the fuck up,'' Duck snapped then looked at Brody. ''How do know that guy, Brody?''

Brody looked from Marlon to him. ''Marlon let him and his people take the twins.'' She answered.

''Damn it, Brody! Shut up!'' Marlon roared, advancing towards the girl.

''Sophie and Minnie? But you said they were killed by walkers!'' Duck exclaimed.

Brody shook her head. ''It was a lie we told everyone.''

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. In the short time that he had known him, Duck developed a great amount of respect for Marlon as a leader. But to hear about him doing something so...wrong, quickly changed that.

''I said SHUT UP!'' Marlon yelled as he got closer. Duck quickly stepped between the two and kept his eyes on Marlon in case he tried anything.

''Duck, you're in danger. And so are Clem and AJ.'' Brody said softly.

Duck eyes widened. He turned around to face her.

''Danger? What danger!?'' He asked desperately. If there was anything bad going to happen to his family then he had to know.

''Marlon said if the Raiders ever came back, ever found this place, he'd let them-''

Duck wasn't able to hear the rest as something hard impacted the side of his skull. He cried out in pain before collapsing to the floor.

''Marlon!'' He heard Brody gasp.

A figure stepped past him. Marlon perhaps. Ducks vision was too blurry to see properly. He slowly brought a hand over to where he had been hit and his fingers felt the familiar warm and thick liquid. Blood.

''Why, Brody? Why!?'' Marlon exclaimed. ''Do you any idea what you've just done? Now everyone will know what happened! And what do you think they'll do to us? We can still fix this. We make it look like Duck had an accident. Slipped and fell to his death. They'll never know the truth!''

Marlon meant to kill him and make it look like some simple accident? Duck felt his blood boil. He couldn't allow that bastard to get away with this.

''You're fucking crazy!'' Brody yelled at him. ''I'm done having blood on my hands! And I'm done lying for you!"'

''Then you leave me no choice.'' Marlon said coldly.

He raised the flashlight over his head, ready to strike again. Brody stared at him, too shocked and afraid to move. Duck took this moment to launch himself towards the other boy, catching him completely off guard and tackling him.

''Run, Brody! RUN!'' Duck shouted as he pinned Marlon down.

Brody watched the boys with wide eyes before heeding Duck's order and running off. Marlon was a lot stronger than Duck thought he was, and the splitting headache was not helping matters. He felt the boy grab him by the arm and in one quick motion, their position was reversed. Marlon wrapped his hands around Ducks neck and began to strangle him.

''You just couldn't mind your own fucking business, could you!?'' He snarled.

Duck would've told Marlon to go fuck himself if his windpipe wasn't being crushed. He desperately tried to pry the boy's fingers away but it was no use. Was this really how he was going to die? His mind conjured up his final moments with his family, wishing them both goodnight, AJ giving him the switchblade just before he-

The switchblade!

Duck quickly dig into his pocket and pulled it out. He jabbed the blade into Marlon's thigh, who cried in pain and loosened his grip over the other boy's neck. Duck took this opportunity to land a hard punch into Marlon face and knocking him off. Duck coughed a few times as his lungs finally got oxygen. He got up to his feet and ran for the exit, almost tripping over the stairs as he did so.

Thundered roared in the night sky and rain started to pour down. Duck was only halfway towards the school building when he felt someone tackle him like a football player into the muddy ground. He tried to crawl away but Marlon pulled him back by his leg and was ready to stab him with the switchblade.

''Get off him!''

Both boys looked to see AJ standing close by. His revolver aimed at Marlon's head. Soon Brody arrived as well, along with everyone else.

''Marlon? What the hell are you doing?'' Louis said as he saw his friend prepared to end someone's life.

Marlon dropped the knife and got off of Duck. Clementine rushed over her friend and helped him up. She was shocked to see blood on the side of Ducks head, then glared at Marlon.

''Guys...i-it's not what it looks like! I swear!'' Marlon told them.

''Enough, Marlon!'' Brody yelled. ''Either you tell them the truth or I will!''

Marlon stared at her and said nothing.

''What are guys talking about? What truth?'' Violet asked.

Brody took a deep breath. ''Sophie and Minnie didn't die because of walkers! It was all a lie!''

Everyone besides Duck and Marlon gasped at what she said.

''W-what?'' Tenn let out.

''When we were out hunting, a group of raiders ambushed us. Marlon let them take the twins so he and I could be spared,'' Brody continued. ''But that's not all. If the Raiders ever came, Marlon was going to let them take Clem, Duck, and AJ! That's the only reason he let them stay, even when he knew we didn't have enough food to feed them!''

Everyone was shocked. Duck once again felt his anger boil over. Was that all he and his family was? A fucking scapegoat!?

''YOU BASTARD!'' He screamed and lunged at Marlon, only for Clementine to hold him back and keep him from trying to rip the other boy apart.

''You guys don't get it,'' Marlon said, looking at each and every person from his group in the eye as he spoke. ''You don't understand at all, do you? I was trying to protect you! EVERY! FUCKING! ONE OF YOU!''

''I'm sure Sophie and Minnie really appreciated your fucking _protection_!"' Clementine snapped.

''Shut up!'' Marlon shouted at her. ''I saved the lives of everyone in this school that day! And if they came back... I'd do it again!''

''Excuse me?'' Ruby said angrily.

''I didn't realize we were so fucking expendable to you, Marlon!'' Aasim snapped.

Marlon panicked at the predicament he just put himself in.

''You gave my sisters away! You told me they died!'' Tenn cried, his tears of anger and pain mixed with the rainwater. ''How could you do that? I trusted you, Marlon. THEY trusted you.''

''You wanna why, Tenn? Because he's a fucking coward! That's why!'' Duck said, looking at Marlon with disgust. ''If you ever loved them, you'd fight for them! No matter what! Even if it cost you your life!''

It's was something Duck learned a long time ago. Family was what kept you going even when the whole worlds crazy. Family was what kept you from losing yourself to your own demons. Family was what you'd gladly die for to keep safe.

''You're right...'' Marlon stared at the ground ashamed, unable to look at the people that once trusted him and called him 'friend'. ''You're absolutely right. I should've at least tried to stage some sort of rescue. But I was so afraid.'' He sobbed and finally looked up at them. ''I failed you. All of you. I'm not the leader you deserve. Please, just let me leave and you'll never see me again. Let me become... a bad memory.''

**_BANG!_**

Everyone watched as Marlon's lifeless collapsed to the ground, a red hole in the middle of his forehead. Everyone turned to AJ, smoke still exiting the barrel of his gun. But nobody spoke.

''What?'' AJ asked them in genuine confusion. ''I aimed for the head.''

**_To Be Continued..._**


	6. Episode 2: Part 1

A/N: Apologies for the late uploads. Been dealing with university and personal life so it's been hard to find time to write this story. I want you all to know that I do intend to finish, it will just take time. Thanks to all those that have taken an interest to this story, I greatly appreciate it.

* * *

_**Episode 2: **__**Open **__**Old Wounds **_

* * *

Oddly enough, Duck managed to get some sleep despite everything that happened last night. When the morning light shone through the window, he rubbed his tired eyes and slowly got out of bed. Clementine and AJ were already awake and sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. Both of them had steaming cups of what he thought was coffee.

''Morning. How's your head?'' Clementine asked when he sat down with them.

''Hurts to think.'' Duck replied, he gently rubbed the spot where Marlon had hit him last night.

''Guess that shouldn't be a problem with you then.'' She said jokingly.

AJ let out a small laugh and Duck shook his head but smiled slightly. Clementine gave him his own cup. It was indeed coffee. When asked where they got from, she said AJ got it from Tenn. Duck took a sip. It had no milk or sugar and tasted bitter but he didn't mind. He could hardly remember that last he had coffee.

''I keep thinking about what Louis called me last night,'' AJ said. ''A murderer. Is that what I am now?''

Duck recalled Louis' words to AJ after he recovered from the shock of his seeing his best friend be killed. Mitch had got in their way when they tried to go back to their dorm and Duck was ready to fight the taller boy if he tried anything, thankfully Clementine managed to talk some sense into before that could happen. The only person that stood by their side that night was Violet.

''Do you regret what you did, AJ?'' Duck asked.

''I...think so?'' The little boy replied, sounding conflicted. ''Marlon tried to kill you and I didn't like that. I thought I was doing the right thing by killing him. But...seeing how everyone reacted, I'm not so sure anymore.''

Clementine put a comforting hand on his shoulder. ''AJ, we know you only did to protect us. But killing Marlon, when he wasn't a threat anymore, was wrong.''

''So I did murder Marlon,'' AJ said sadly. ''Which means I'm no better than a monster.''

Duck shook his head and said firmly, ''You're not a monster.''

''Everyone else thinks I am now. I wish they didn't.''

''Then we just need to change their minds. You still have a chance to atone.'' Clementine explained.

''Atone?'' AJ asked, confused.

''Make up for what you did wrong.''

The boy was silent for a moment as he pondered on what she said. ''Did...any of you guys murder people?'' He then asked.

Both Duck and Clementine shared a look. It was Duck that answered.

''Clem and I had to kill people. And we've seen others kill people,'' He admitted. ''For good and bad reasons. Most had to die because they were a threat to others. Some were killed to save them from a far worst fate.''

''Like Lee and your mom?'' AJ asked him.

Duck shuddered slightly. The memory of his mothers final moments played through his mind like a film. ''Yeah. Like them.''

''I hope I never have to do that to any of you guys.''

''Hey,'' Clementine gently wrapped an arm around the boy and pulled him close. ''That'll never happen.''

_We don't know that._ Duck thought. And it was true. None of them knew what the future would have in store for them and the past few years have always taught him to fear the worst. But right now he didn't have it in him to spoil the moment.

There was a soft knocking on the door before it opened slowly and Tenn stepped inside.

''Hey,'' He greeted. ''Violet said to come and get you for the funeral.''

''Really?'' Clementine asked, sounding surprised. Though Duck wast sure if it was for the fact that they were having a funeral for Marlon, or that they were invited, or both.

''We used to have them more. Then we stopped. It seems right though.'' Tenn explained to them, then turned to AJ. ''I brought you something.''

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wooden toy of a firefighter and held it out for the other boy to take.

''For me?'' AJ asked.

''I figured you'd be afraid, with everyone all upset. But you were brave last night. Like a firefighter.''

''No.'' AJ pushed his hand away but not in a manner. ''firefighters are good. And what I did was bad. I don't deserve to have it.''

''Are you sure you don't want it?'' Tenn asked and AJ nodded.

''I'm sure. You should keep him. You're good, just like him.'' He said. ''But maybe we can play with him later? Together?''

Tenn gave him a small smile. ''Sure. After the funeral. They buried him already. Vi'll start it soon. See you guys out there.''

When he left the room, Clementine let out a deep sigh.

''This is gonna be hard.'' She said looking at AJ. ''Everyone's still going to be upset about last night. We need to show them that we care, okay?''

''Okay,'' AJ replied softly.

''Well then,'' Duck stood up and down the rest of his coffee. ''Let's get this over with.''

Upon arriving at the courtyard, the trio saw the other kids were all gathering at the graveyard. Last nights rain hadn't washed away the small pool of Marlon's blood and could still be seen where he had been shot.

''Why do people have funerals?'' AJ asked.

''To say goodbye to those who died one last time,'' Clementine explained.

AJ gave a sorrowful look as they passed the blood. ''I made them sad because I took someone away from them. I'd be sad too if someone took you guys away from me. Does everybody get funerals?''

''Yeah. Pets too sometimes.'' Duck replied. He had a pet Labrador named Franklin that passed away from old age. Duck remembered crying nonstop after they buried the poor fellow.

''Even monsters?''

''Even monsters.''

Violet and Brody's voices could be heard the closer they got. It didn't sound like they were having a pleasant conversation.

''I-I know I should've told you guys sooner,'' Brody said. She stared down at her feet in shame. ''I'm sorry I didn't-''

''Sorry!?'' Violet shouted angrily. ''You looked me and Tenn in the eyes every day, you kept this a secret from us for a whole fucking year, and all you can say is 'sorry'!?''

''Vi, please stop!'' Tenn pleaded as he stepped between the two.

Violet still looked mad but remained silent after that. Several kids noticed Duck and the others arrive.

Mitch narrowed his eyes at the three. "What the fuck are they doing here?"

''Leave them alone,'' Violet told him.

''And why are you defending them? Marlon wasn't perfect, but he deserved better than to be gunned down by that kid.'' He pointed at AJ.

''I'm sorry I did that,'' AJ spoke. ''I know I'm a murderer. But I gonna a...a...''

''Atone.'' Clementine helped him.

''Yeah, atone.''

''Fuck. I can't listen to this.'' Louis said. He walked past them and went inside the school.

AJ continued, ''What I did was bad, and I wanna make it up to you guys.''

''You don't have to make to up shit!'' Violet exclaimed. ''Marlon was a fucking liar and if we'd all ask more questions about Sophie and Minnie disappearing, none of this would've happened.''

''So what are we supposed to do now? Give the kid a fucking pat on the back for killing an unarmed person? Hell no! They gotta fucking go!'' Mitch turned to face the other kids. ''I say we all vote on it. The majority decides if they stay or leave. Today.''

''That does seem fair,'' Ruby noted and several others agreed.

''You can't be serious,'' Duck said to them, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. ''After everything we've done for you guys, you're actually considering kicking us out?''

''A votes the only way to settle this for good. Otherwise, we'll be arguing about this forever.'' One of the boys, Omar, reasoned.

''Fine. I guess we're fucking voting,'' Violet said after seeing the majority were on board with the idea. She looked at Tenn. ''Louis needs to vote too. Could you go get him?''

Tenn nodded tried to get Rosie to come with him. But the dog remained by Marlon's grave, still mourning over the loss of her master.

* * *

Violet asked Duck, Clementine and, AJ to wait in their dorm and that she would come to get them when it was over. When they returned to their room, AJ became frustrated at the fact that they didn't accept his apology. He took his anger out on the wall by banging his foot against it repeatedly. It took a while until Clementine got him to calm down.

Duck could understand the little boy wasn't happy, neither was he. The more he thought about it, the less certain he was about their chances of staying in this school. They could only hope that the other kids would be reasonable and let them stay. If not, then there was nothing they could do about it.

Violet arrived along with Louis about an hour later. The three waited anxiously for the result.

''We took the vote,'' Violet said, staring down at the floor. ''You have to leave.''

And with those four words, whatever hope Duck and others still had was crushed.

''But don't we get to vote?'' AJ asked. ''I vote we stay.''

''That's not how it works, kid.'' Louis said, sounding irritated.

Clementine sighed. ''Fine then. We'll leave.''

Violet gave a look of disbelief. ''Seriously? You guys know this is fucking wrong, and you're not gonna fight at all?''

''What choice do we have, Vi? They've already made up their minds. But we appreciate you trying to help us.''

''This is so fucking stupid,'' Violet muttered.

''Hey! You agreed to go along with it if we voted fairly!'' Louis told her.

''It's bullshit and you know it!'' Violet snapped. ''Or at least you would if you weren't so used to burying your fucking head in the sand!''

''Oh, I'm burying my head in the sand? Hate Marlon all you want, but you can't tell me AJ isn't dangerous too!''

''Can both of you just stop it?'' Duck told them. It was bad enough that they had to leave, the last thing he wanted was to listen to this two bicker. ''The majority vote was for us to leave, so we'll leave. It's as simple as that.''

Violet and Louis looked at one another, seemingly agreeing there was no point in arguing.

''We'll give you guys time to pack up,'' Violet said softly. ''Then Louis and I will escort you past the safe zone. We'll make you get to the road safely.''

''Thanks,'' Clementine said.

''Can I at least say goodbye to Tenn?'' AJ asked.

''He was really upset about the vote,'' Violet told him. ''Now he's not talking to anybody. It's best to leave him when he's like this but...he wanted you guys to stay.''

The three watched as Violet and Louis left the room, closing the door behind them. They silently went about gathering all their belongs. The feeling of once again being out on the road began to slowly sink in. As well the feeling of no longer having a bed to sleep on, or a warm meal to look forward to, or walls to feel protected.

Or a place to call home.


	7. Episode 2: Part 2

Omar was kind enough to cook them some dinner before they had to leave. Three bowls filled with steaming bean soup sat on one of the tables. ''Just because you gotta leave, doesn't mean you gotta leave on empty stomachs.'' He said giving a sad smile.

The trio thanked him and enjoyed their meal, knowing full well it might be their last for the next several days. The only other kids that were in the courtyard were Aasim, who was on guard duty, then Violet and Louis who were waiting at the gate to escort them as promised. When they were finished eating and walked through the gates one last time, Aasim's voice could be heard saying, ''Good luck''.

''Will we get another car?'' AJ asked a couple of minutes in to their walk.

''If we're lucky.'' Duck responded.

''I remember getting so sick of riding in the car,'' AJ muttered. ''But at least I didn't have to worry about my shoes breaking.''

''We'll have to hope they hold,'' Clementine said.

''My feet are gonna bleed again.''

''Then we'll tear up a shirt and tie them up if we have to.''

''It's not so bad. I mean you guys have done this before,'' Louis said in some attempt to cheer them up. Violet shot him a look that said 'shut up', but he didn't notice. ''I bet you guys are good at it by now.''

_Not so bad my ass. _Duck thought bitterly. If Louis experienced only a fraction of what they had to endure over the years, he'd know just how 'bad' it was out there.

''We here. Just keep walking forward and you'll find the road,'' Violet told them, then turned to Louis. ''Wanna say anything before we go?''

Louis shook his head. ''I've said enough.''

''Thanks for trying to keep us,'' AJ said quietly.

Violet gave them a look of sympathy. ''You're welcome. I...wish you guys could've stayed.''

''Yeah, so do we,'' Clementine said. ''Sorry we couldn't make things work out in the end.''

''You three stay safe,'' Violet said before turning to leave.

Louis remained, however, looking over at AJ. ''Still got that gun?'' He asked. AJ nodded and pulled it out to show him. ''Just try and be more careful with it, okay?''

''I will,'' AJ promised and put the gun away.

They stayed and watched as Louis and Violet disappeared from sight until it was once again just the three of them alone in the harsh world.

''Let's get going. The sun will set soon.'' Clementine started walking again. Duck and AJ followed shortly.

They followed the path toward the road. The sun was already starting to set in the horizon. If they were lucky they would find shelter for the night before it got too dark.

''Are we going to be okay?'' AJ asked in a worried tone. ''I thought there'd be no more running from all the bad people. And the monsters.''

''Of course we'll be okay,'' Duck assured him. ''So long as we stay smart and look out for each other.''

Clementine nodded in agreement. ''Exactly. And maybe someday we'll find our own place we can call home.''

''I hope we do. And I'll try not to mess it up for us.'' AJ said.

_**BANG!**_

Ducks heart almost stopped at the sound of a gunshot that sounded to close for comfort. Clementine whispered to hide and they ran off the dirt path to take cover behind the trees. After a few seconds passed, they peeked out from there hiding spots and saw a man a short distance away wielding a double-barrel shotgun. It didn't look like he knew where they were hiding.

''Come on out. I already saw a couple of you on the road,'' He called. ''How long do you think you can hide?''

''Oh shit!'' Clementine cursed. ''It's that guy from the train station.''

''What?"' Duck said, surprised.

So that was the man who threatened them, his blood was boiling now. Duck grabbed his crossbow and waited for the man to get close. When he did, Duck stepped out from cover and kicked him hard in the stomach. The man grunted and fell backward, dropping his shotgun in the process. Clementine and AJ stepped out from cover with their weapons drawn as well.

The man sneered. ''Tough little shits, aren't ya?''

''Give me one good reason not to end you right now.'' Duck said, never taking his aim off of the man's head.

He then felt something cold and metal press against the back of his neck.

''This good enough of a reason?'' A woman's voice asked from behind. ''Drop your weapons, get on your knees, and put yours behind your heads.''

The three kids stood frozen. Neither of them turned around. The woman spoke again. ''Don't make me repeat myself.''

They reluctantly complied. The man stood and confiscated their weapons with a smug grin.

''We're looking for a kid, runs a community near here. Name's Marlon.'' Woman said.

''He's dead,'' Clementine answered.

''Dead?'' The woman said, shocked. ''Shit.''

''We can still make this work.'' The man reassured her.

''Alright, this is how it's gonna work: You're gonna take us back to your school and help us talk to your little friends.''

''They're not our friends. We don't even live there.'' Duck told the woman. He once again felt the barrel of a gun press against his head.

''I find that very hard to believe. Not a lot of kid communes around here.''

The man pulled AJ up by his arm and twisted it behind his back, making the boy yell in pain.

''No!'' Clementine screamed.

''Leave him alone!'' Duck yelled at the man.

''Sure, if you do like we ask,'' The man said. ''Otherwise, I'm happy to crack his head open. You ever see old fruit explode after you throw it at something? That's just how it'll look.''

Duck launched himself towards the man, only for the woman to hit him on the head with the butt of her rifle and making him fall down. The blow was hard and sent Duck falling to the ground. He heard Clementine yell his name and saw her rush to his side. The woman moved closer to them and for the first time Duck managed to get a good look at her.

''Oh, my God...Clementine? Duck? Is that really you?'' She said, her expression was one of disbelief.

The two stared at her confused as to how she knew their names. It only took them a few seconds of looking at the woman to realize who she was. Both their eyes widened in shock.

''Holy shit!'' Duck gasped. ''Lilly?!''

Duck and Clementine had known Lilly during the early days of the apocalypse. She and her father were part of their group for a while. But then she murdered another member of their group, Carley, during a heated argument. Instead of leaving Lilly behind, Lee had chosen to take her with them. In the end she stole their R.V and was never seen again. Duck thought that was the last they had seen of her. But now she was here, her face looked weathered and her once long hair had been cut short.

''We thought you were dead!'' Clementine said.

''I...came close. A lot of times.'' Lilly lowered a hand down for Duck to take.

''What the hell are you doing?'' The man asked her.

''Not now, Abel.''

Duck stared at her hand, deciding whether or not to accept her help. In the end, he reluctantly took it.

''Where are your parents? Where's Lee?'' Lilly asked them. Duck and Clementine exchanged a glance, then looked back at her. Lilly's eyes widened slightly with realization. ''Oh, I see.''

''Lilly, why the hell are you here?'' Duck asked her.

''I thought I made that clear. I need you guys to help me.''

''Help you kidnap a couple more kids?'' Clementine snapped.

''We don't need a couple. We need all of them.'' The man, Abel, said.

''We'll take you all to the Delta to join our people. We have walls, working solar panels, and we grow our own food,'' Lilly explained. ''All we need from you guys is to go back to your friends and convince them to come with us peacefully. No one will be harmed.''

''If you've got such a paradise then what do you want with a bunch of kids?'' Duck asked.

''In order to maintain said paradise, you need people to defend it. And that's in short supply these days.''

Her words made some sense. They needed people to help defend their home, but judging by how they acted earlier, Duck wasn't sure these people would take no for answer.

''I highly doubt those kids will listen to us. Let alone agree to come with you.'' Clementine told her.

''Don't worry. We can be very persuasive.'' Abel said. He made his point by twisting AJ's arm again, the boy let out a pained scream in response.

Before Duck or Clementine could do anything, Lilly raised her rifle to deter them from doing anything rash. She spoke again, ''We need you to be smart about this. It an us-or-them kind of world and you don't want it- AHH!'' Lilly screamed as an arrow landed into her shoulder.

''GO! RUN!'' Violets voice shouted in the distance.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Clementine shoved Lilly to the ground while Duck raced toward Abel, who was looking to see where the arrow had come from, and landed a hard punch on the side of his head. Not enough to knock to him out, but he still went down and lost his grip on AJ. Duck grabbed the boy and the three ran as fast as they could away from their attackers.

Running through the now darkened woods wasn't easy. Duck found himself almost tripping over a rock or fallen branch he barely saw.

''STOP!'' Lilly's voice could be heard from behind them. ''Stop right now, or we WILL shoot!''

They ignored her demands. It wasn't long until gunshots rang all around them. AJ and tripped over a small rock and fell down, Duck stopped momentarily to lift him back up to his feet and continued running. After several more shots were fired, Duck felt something sting his side but ignored it. Walkers became attracted to gunfire and started to block their way.

Clementine looked over her shoulder to see how close their pursuers were, but in doing so failed to see the walker she ran right into. It grabbed hold of her and tried to bite her. Duck pulled out his knife and buried it into the walkers skull. Clementine would've thanked him right then and there if Lilly and Abel weren't still firing. Luckily the walkers were more focused on them than the kids, allowing them to get some much-needed distance.

Something didn't feel right. Duck felt his side hurt significantly. When he brought a hand over to the spot that hurt the most and felt blood on his fingertips, the realization had quickly hit him. He had been shot. Duck's vision began to blur. He could no longer run and grabbed hold of a thin tree to keep himself from falling. He sunk down and dropped the knife. AJ had notice Duck lagging behind went to check him. His eyes widened when he saw the older boy clutching his side.

''Clem, Ducks hurt!'' AJ called out.

Clementine immediately rushed over to them. She could've carried Duck but walkers were closing in them. Instead, she grabbed his knife, planning to put it to use very soon.

''Clem...you gotta go!'' Duck said through his pain. ''Take and AJ and run!''

''No!'' AJ cried. ''We can't leave you here!''

''I'll thin these walkers and then we can make a run for it.'' Clementine said quickly.

''Don't be stupid! There's too many of them! You need-''

''Shut up! I'm not leaving you!'' Clementine cut him off.

She stood up and turned to face the oncoming walkers. But for every one she killed, another would take its place. Duck knew Clementine couldn't keep this up forever. Eventually, she would have to accept the grim reality of their situation and take AJ to safety, leaving Duck to his fate. He only hoped she realized that before they both ended up joining him.

When one walker got close enough, Clementine was about to stab it between the eyes. But she didn't expect said walker to grab her wrist, nor whisper, ''Stop.''

''Wha-?'' Clementine tried to say but the 'walker' covered her mouth with his hand

''Don't make a sound.''

The three watched as the stranger disguised as a walker picked up a small rock and threw it into some bushes away from them. The noise attracted the attention of the real walkers and they went to investigate, leaving the four of them alone. The stranger gestured them to follow him. Duck was in too much pain to walk properly so Clementine helped him.

They made it to a small camp and the stranger told them to sit Duck on a fallen tree so they could inspect his wound. The bullet didn't go through and needed to be taken out. Clementine volunteered to do it. Duck did his best not to scream his head off as he felt the knife dig into his flesh. After what felt like an eternity, the bullet was finally out and the stranger taped a piece of cloth around the wound to stop the bleeding.

''I didn't mean to endanger you,'' The stranger said as they sat by a small fire he made earlier. ''I sent the walkers to help you.''

''You sent the walkers?'' Clementine asked, sounding intrigued.

''You're wearing walkers skin,'' Duck noted the mask and gloves he wore. ''That's why they didn't attack you. How did you figure that out?''

''Was part of a group. Call themselves Whisperers. They've learned to live in herds, move among walkers. Sometimes, guide them.''

''If you were part of a group, why are you alone now? Did they kick you out?'' AJ asked.

The stranger shook his head. ''I left. They attacked a community. I saw the carnage. Didn't want to be a part of it.''

The stranger dug into his pack and took out three apples. He handed one to each of them and they introduced each other while they ate. The stranger revealed his name to be James.

''Why did you help us, James?'' Clementine asked.

James removed the mask from his head and they could finally see his face. He had dark brown hair and looked to be about Duck and Clementines age.

''What do you know about the people who attacked you?'' He asked.

''Only that they wanted to take us and a bunch of other kids with them to their place, the Delta,'' Clementine replied. ''They already took two last year.''

''A common practiced for them,'' James said quietly. ''They are at war with another community up north. That's why they take people. To train and make them fight. Old or young, they do not care. So long as you can hold a rifle, they can use you.''

''And they don't care whether you want to join them or not.'' Duck said bitterly.

''Yes. That's why I helped you.''

''Thank you,'' AJ said.

James gave a sad smile. ''It was difficult. To send the heard in. To save you.''

A lone walker stumbled close to the camp. James lured it away by throwing a rock against a tree. Duck felt himself begin to shiver. Clementine pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, checking his temperature.

''You've got a fever.'' She said.

''His wound will need proper cleaning. medicine too, if you're lucky to have any.'' James told her.

Unfortunately, they had no medicine. And finding some was even harder than finding food these days.

''The school!'' AJ said hopefully. ''They'll have medicine. Maybe they can help.''

''I guess.'' Clementine said with less optimism

''Those people attacked you to get to that school?'' James asked. They all nodded. ''They will find it eventually. And they'll bring more people, with more guns. You need to warn them. Prepare them for what's coming.''

''It doesn't look like we have much of a choice.'' Duck said.

Three chatted for a little while about where they were from and what their parents did for a living. James offered to guide them safely back to the school even said he'd keep watch for the night. Duck stared at the dying embers, Clementine and AJ were already fast asleep by him.

He went over everything that had happened today: Getting kicked out of the school, meeting Lilly again and almost getting killed by her. Everything just went downhill so quickly. And if James was correct, then it was only going to get worse. Eventually he too drifted off to sleep.


	8. Episode 2: Part 3

They would've reached the school much sooner if it wasn't for Ducks injury and fever slowing them down. Clementine and James took turns helping him walk. Every time they came across a walker, James would insist on luring it away rather than killing it. Duck wondered why he was so against killing walkers but decided it was best not to ask. The group had crossed the small wooden bridge leading to the school.

Willy was on guard by the gate. His eyes widened at the sight of James. ''Walker!'' He cried.

An arrow landed close to James' feet. It was a good thing Willy had poor aim. When he saw Duck, Clementine, and AJ, he looked confused, then shouted for Violet and Louis before leaving.

''I should get going,'' James said he turned to walk back the way he came.

''Wait,'' Clementine said, stopping him. ''Look, you lived out there on your own for a while, right? You could stay with us.''

James looked at the arrow, then back at her before saying, ''Not ready.''

As soon as he left, Louis came running out to meet them.

''What happened?'' He asked once his saw Duck in his current state.

''He was shot. And he's got a fever.'' Clementine explained.

''Please help him,'' AJ said with pleading eyes.

''Come on. Let's get inside,'' Louis went and moved Duck's arm over his shoulder. ''Ruby can help.''

Louis brought them into the main hall where Violet, and Ruby and some of the other kids were. When Louis explained to them what happened, they went upstairs so that Ruby could help Duck. Once he was set down on a couch, she pressed her against his forehead just like Clementine did.

''Body's trying to fight infection.'' She noted.

''Ruby will take care of him,'' Violet said to Clementine and AJ. ''You guys come with me. We can talk in the office.''

''Can we stay with Duck?'' AJ asked. ''I don't wanna leave him.''

''Hey, buddy,'' Duck said and managed a small smile. ''I'll be fine. Now go with Clem. You guys can see me later.''

''Okay.'' He said reluctantly.

Once everyone else was gone, Ruby told to take off his jacket and shirt so she could treat the wound, which he did with some hesitation. There were times when he let Clementine treat injuries he couldn't do himself but the idea of somebody else, and another girl for that matter, made him feel weird. Ruby cut off the duct tape, removed the cloth and used disinfectant on the wound which made it sting. After that was done, she dressed it with proper bandages.

''There we go,'' Ruby said, no doubt proud of her handiwork.

Just as she was giving him some medicine for the fever, Mitch came storming in looking none too happy.

''What the fuck is going on here!?'' He asked angrily and glared at Duck. ''Why did you guys let them back in?''

''This is not the time, Mitch!'' Ruby snapped at him.

''Bullshit it isn't! We all agreed to the vote, and now they come back and we're just giving them our medicine?''

''You know what, Mitch? Go take it up with Vi if you wanna be so damn pissy!''

''Maybe I will!"

As Mitch walked out, Duck looked back at Ruby who simply shook her head.

''I better go after him and make sure he doesn't cause too much of a scene,'' She then looked at him. ''You stay here and rest. The fever will go away soon.''

Duck nodded. ''Thanks.''

He put his clothes back on and did what as Ruby told him. A short while later Clementine and AJ arrived to check up on him. They were happy to see he was fine.

''I told Vi about Lilly and the raiders attack on the school,'' Clementine informed him. ''There's barbed wire in the school greenhouse we can use to keep them from climbing the walls. Ruby and Mitch are gonna meet us there and get it.''

''Wish I could come with you guys, but the good doctor ordered me to stay and rest.'' Duck chuckled.

''Get well soon,'' AJ said and they turned to leave.

''Clem, wait.'' Duck grabbed her arm before she could leave. ''I need to talk you real quick. In private.''

Clementine noticed the look on his face said it was important so she told AJ to wait for her outside.

When he was gone she asked, ''So what did you want to talk about?''

''About what happened last night,'' Duck began. ''When I was wounded, we were surrounded by walkers and you chose to stay and fight even when I told to take AJ and run to safety.''

Clementine frowned at him. ''Why are you going on about that? We survived.''

''Yeah, barely. And what would've happened if James wasn't there to help? What would you have done then?'' He asked. When she didn't reply he continued. ''Not only did you put yourself at risk, but you put AJ at risk too, over me.''

''Well what do you want me to say? 'Sorry I didn't leave you behind'? 'Sorry I didn't leave you to die'!?'' She asked, both angry and irritated.

At that Duck stood up on his feet. his wound hurt slightly as a result but he ignored it.

''That's not what I meant and you know it!'' He said furiously. ''You can't go risking your life like that, nor AJ's!''

''So if it was the me that was shot, would you have left me behind?''

_Of course not. I would've fought till I couldn't fight anymore to keep you safe._

''You already the know the answer,'' He replied with instead. ''Look, I promised dad I would protect you guys.''

''Oh yeah? And who do you think is trying to protect you!?'' Clementine jabbed a finger at his chest.

''It doesn't matter what happens to me so long as you two are safe!''

''How can you think your life's no less important than mine or AJ's?'' Clementine asked, her eyes started to water. ''If you died...how do you think AJ would feel? How do you think _I_ would feel? I've already lost my parents, and Lee, and everyone else I ever cared about. You're the only one who's been there with me through it all. And every day I'm scared that maybe this might be the day I finally end up losing you too.''

Duck almost regretted them having this conversation. He never wanted to make his close friend cry, just make her understand why he was angry when she refused to leave him behind and put herself and AJ in danger just for him. The thought of them needlessly dying alongside him was just too much for him to handle. He reached out for her face and wiped the tears away, then pulled her into a tight hug. Clementine didn't resist.

''I know you're scared. I'm scared too. That's why I was angry. You and AJ are the family I have left and I love you guys more than life itself.''

''I love you too,'' Clementine said against his chest. ''We both do.''

''Oh!'' Another voice made them both jump slightly. They turned to see Brody standing there, her face was slightly red as she looked at the two.''I...um, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you guys.''

''No it's okay. I was just about to leave. Don't wanna keep the others waiting.'' Clementine said and pulled away from Duck.

She then headed downstairs to meet up the others, leaving the two of them alone.

''You know, you two are really lucky,'' Brody said smiling.

''I'm sorry?'' Duck asked, confused.

''I know it's a pretty dark world out there. But it's nice to see love can still shine through it all.''

''No, no, we're not...like that.'' Duck said as soon he realized what she meant.

''Really?'' Brody blinked in surprise. ''I always thought...actually, just forget I ever said anything.''

She quickly changed the topic. ''Vi and Louis told us what happened to you guys out there with the raiders. Is it true that you and Clem know one of them? Lilly?''

Duck nodded. ''Yeah. She was part of our group during the start. But when her dad died, everything just went downhill and she ended up leaving. And judging by what happened last night,'' He gestured to his patched wounded. ''She hasn't mellowed with age.''

''I didn't even thank you,'' Brody said softly.

''Thank me?''

''For helping me in the basement with Marlon,'' She clarified. ''He was gonna kill me, no doubt about it. He always had a way of making me agree with him on things. But after hearing what he wanted to do to you, Clem, and AJ, I realized just how far he was willing to go to save his own skin. I just couldn't go along with him after that.'' She gave him a small smile. ''So thank you.''

''How has everybody been treating you now that they know what happened to the twins?'' Duck asked.

''If I'm being honest: A lot better than I thought they would. I guess they understood that Marlon was the real culprit and I was forced to go along with him. Tenn forgave me. Hell, he even forgave Marlon. That kid is sweet almost to a fault.''

Duck laughed slightly at how true that statement was.

''Vi on the other hand...'' Brody sighed sadly. ''I guess you heard her go off on me at the funeral.''

''Only some of it.''

''She hates me. But with everything that's going on now, she's willing to put it aside. But I can see it, you know? The hatred, just boiling beneath the surface every time we look at each other. And the worst part is, I can't say I don't deserve it.'' She folded her arms and stared down at the floor.

It didn't come as a surprise to Duck that Vi and Brody weren't on good terms anymore. Even before knowing the truth, Vi was still distant towards the other girl. Knowing what really happened to the twins might have been the final nail in the coffin for their friendship. And it seemed Brody knew this.

''Hey, I'm sure things will get better between you two,'' He walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder. ''I'm sure Vi just has a lot on her plate right now. Give it some time and you can try talking to her again.''

Brody stared at him as if thinking about he said. She then asked in a hesitant voice, ''Have you ever felt like this? Like you've done something you regret even to this day?''

''Yes. A few days after all this started, my family and I stayed a night at this man's farm. The next morning I was with his son, Shawn, while he was building a fence around the farm. I was fooling around with the tractor and ended starting it and I...''Duck swallowed a lump in his throat. ''I drove into his leg. Walkers heard his screams. He didn't make it.''

There had been a part of that wanted to believe Shawn miraculously survived. But as he got older, Duck knew that was wishful thinking and he had come to terms that he got an innocent person killed. He would take that guilt with him to the grave.

''Oh my god...''Brody gasped. ''I-I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to open old wounds.''

Duck shook his head. ''Don't worry about it. There's no point in thinking about the past. Especially not when our futures at stake.''

There was a brief moment of silence between the two.

''I suppose you're right. Well, I should let you rest. it was nice talking.'' She said smiling before turning to leave.

* * *

Duck woke up sometime later on. Judging the sunlight out the windows, it was still around the afternoon, so he hadn't slept for that long. His wound didn't hurt anymore which he took as a good sign. Feeling the need to stretch his legs, Duck got up from the couch and headed downstairs. Once he reached the main entrance, he opened the door and was at the courtyard. As Duck reached the bottom of the steps he saw Aasim armed with a bow and was shooting at a small target hanging on a tree branch. He nocked one arrow, held it, then released. It flew through the air and hit the bullseye.

_Damn. He's actually really good with that._ Duck thought as he made his way over.

Aasim took out another arrow when saw Duck approaching him. ''I heard you almost died.''

''Nice to see you again too, Aasim.'' He retorted sarcastically

''Ah, sorry. It's good to see you,'' Aasim said with a genuine smile. ''Though I kinda wish it was under better circumstances. Everyone was in a frenzy when Vi and Louis told us about raiders planning to come here and take us all away.''

''Can't say I blame any of them for being scared.''

''Yeah, well, I'd rather focus on being prepared than scared. That's why I decided to set this thing up for some practice. Help us get ready for the...inevitable.''

Aasim aimed, then released the arrow. It landed right next to the previous one in the center.

''You seem to be pretty good with that thing already.'' Duck complimented him.

''I had practice. Hey, what happened to that crossbow you always carried around?'' He asked.

''One of the raiders, Abel, took it when they ambushed us.'' Duck said sadly. He really liked that crossbow and it was highly unlikely he would get it back.

''Sorry to hear. We've got a spare bow or two you can use in the meantime.''

''I...''Ducked paused nervously. ''Never used a bow in my life.''

''Then why not give it a try now?'' Aasim held his bow out for him.

Duck gave him a look to ask if he was serious. When he was, Duck hesitantly took it as well as an arrow and aimed at the target. He tried his best to aim at the center of the target. He released the arrow and watched as it soared through the air.

And fly over the wall instead.

Aasim stifled a laugh and Duck glowered at him.

''I'm sorry! I'm sorry!'' He quickly apologized. ''Controlling your breathing's important. Just take deep breath or two, pull the string back, breathe out, aim, then fire. Try again.''

Duck grabbed another arrow, took a deep breath like Aasim instructed, and aimed. Before he could let it go, however, Aasim placed a hand his shoulder.

"You're aiming too high." He put his other hand on Ducks arm and lowered it slightly as well as adjusted his footing. "Don't be afraid to take your time. It won't matter how fast you are if you're not accurate."

Duck took a deep breath, aimed, breathe out, and fired. This time he actually managed to hit the target. Not dead center but in the outer ring.

Aasim smiled at him like a teacher to a student. "Good shot. Of course, accuracy is important, but so is consistency. If you can hit a target in the same spot or close to it consistently, that's a good starting point. With a little more practice I'm sure you'll get the hand of it.''

''Thanks.'' Duck said.

Despite feeling glad he was showing some form of improvement, he couldn't wonder if it was gonna be enough against the raiders. Not only that, could these kids be able to properly defends themselves against adults with guns? No matter how he tried to look at it the odds always seemed stacked against them.

''Look, I don't mean to sound negative or anything, but the people that are coming for us have guns and I doubt they'll be afraid to use them on us. Clem and I had to deal with people like these more often than I wish we had to. So when the time comes, do you think you guys will be ready to face them?''

''We all know what's at stake and we'll do whatever we can to be ready,'' Aasim replied confidently. ''That's all we can really do in the end, right?''

Duck nodded in agreement. He wanted to believe they would all make it through what was coming. But in the back of his mind, he knew how these things always ended. With bloodshed from both sides.


	9. Episode 2: Part 4

It had been two weeks since Duck, Clementine and AJ came back to the boarding school, and in that time they and the rest of the kids had done everything they could to prepare for the inevitable arrival of Lilly and her band of raiders. That included setting barbed wires along the walls, reinforcing the main gates with unwanted junk, and putting signs up to tell the raiders they weren't welcome. By the end, the courtyard looked ready for a siege to take place.

Tension around the school began to grow with each passing day as the kids waited for any sign of the raiders. The fact that they could get attacked at any moment was starting to take its toll on their morale. On a more brighter side, thanks to the food they found at the train station and with careful rationing, they didn't have to risk leaving the safety of the walls to hunt. Ducks archery skill had improved with the help of Aasim. He had been given a set of clothes since his old ones were bloody. He now wore a blue, long sleeve shirt and a jacket just like Marlon's one with the boarding schools' logo on.

Duck looked around the courtyard. Tenn and AJ had watch duty, Mitch was busy building a bomb from materials they found in the greenhouse weeks ago and Clementine was practicing archery using Marlon's bow. Rosie was laying close by her. Everyone else was inside boarding up the doors and windows so that if the raiders came through they would have to enter through the admin building where traps would be set up.

He went over to Clementine, whose arrow just missed the bullseye.

''How's everything out here?'' Duck asked her.

''Same as always,'' She replied. ''How's everything in there?''

''Same as always. Vi told me to check up on you guys. She and Louis won't stop arguing. All this waiting's getting on everyone's nerves.''

''I thought Lilly and Abel would show up days ago,'' Clementine said, sending another arrow into the target.

Duck nodded. ''Me too. I wonder what the hell's taking them so long.''

Just then, Rosie got up and began rubbing her head against Clementine's leg, who in return, scratched the back of her ears affectionately.

''I see you two are getting along well.'' Duck commented.

Clementine let out a small laugh. ''Yeah. I saw her by Marlon's grave earlier looking depressed. Thought I'd go cheer her up. Next thing I know, she won't stop following me.''

''I'll leave you two alone.'' Duck said with a smile and walked off. It seemed had gotten over her fear of dogs now.

AJ waved at him when he got closer to them. He smiled and waved back.

''See anything?'' He asked the two boys.

''No raiders,'' AJ shook his head. ''But we'll let you know when we see any.''

''Good.'' Duck nodded and let them get back to being on lookout.

Mitch sat at the table working on the bomb. He'd been working on it for days and nobody was sure how close he really was to finishing it.

"You want something?" He asked irritably when Duck approached.

"I just wanted to see how things were going," Duck replied. ''So how's the bomb coming along?''

"Still trying to get the damn thing to go off. After all, what good is a bomb if it doesn't blow shit up?"

''Not a very good one I guess.''

"Exactly," Mitch said with a slight smirk. "I'll get it to work. Just need some more time. Time _alone _if you don't mind.''

"Alright then." Duck grumbled before walking away.

Soon Brody, Violet, Louis, Aasim and Ruby came out of the admin building. Aasim had one hand on his stomach as if he had bee punched.

''You okay?'' Duck asked him.

''Yeah.'' He grunted and took a seat on the couch.

Brody then told them that he and Willy got into an argument over what trap they should use. When was adamant Aasim about using bricks stuffed in duffel bags rather than Willy's idea of using a swinging log, the younger boy punched him in the stomach and ran off.

''At this rate, we'll end up killing each other before the raiders even get a fuckin' chance.'' Violet sighed.

''Then it's a good thing I know just how to break the tension,'' Louis said smiling.

He gestured for them to follow him to where Aasim was sitting.

''Hey buddy!'' Louis greeted as he took a seat next to him on the couch. ''How's it hanging?''

''Dude, fuck off,'' Aasim said angrily.

''Sulking in the corner isn't gonna help us fight off the raiders. Or turn that frown upside down.'' Louis told him. ''But you wanna know what will?''

He pulled out a deck of cards from his coat pocket and showed it to everyone.

''We haven't played a game in weeks. Since that night with Marlon.'' Violet said, sitting down on the couch close to them

Despite how long it felt, Duck remembered that night. Especially the part where he got upset over one of Louis' questions. AJ and Tenn noticed what was going on and decided to join in. Thinking there'd be no harm in just one game, Duck, Clementine, and Brody joined in as well.

''So you playing?'' Louis asked Aasim. A smirk suddenly formed on his lips. ''Or do you wanna ask Ruby to join? I don't mind waiting.''

''Everyone looked at Aasim with surprise, who's face quickly turned red.

''Dude, shut up! I swear to God.''

''Wait, you like Ruby!?'' Brody said with a giggle.

''No!'' Aasim snapped. ''He just pulled that out of his ass!''

''What are we playing?'' AJ asked as he and Tenn arrived.

''Truth or Dare!'' Louis announced.

''How the hell are we supposed to play that with cards?'' Vi asked

''Simple. Everyone draws. The highest card gets to ask, and the lowest card has to answer.'' Louis explained then passed the deck around.

When everyone drew a card and turned, Violet got the highest while Duck got the lowest.

''Oh this is gonna be good,'' Violet said smiling. ''Truth. Marry-Fuck-Kill.''

''Vi!'' Tenn said sternly.

Violet groaned, ''Fine. Marry-_Flip_-Kill. Clementine, Aasim and...Brody.''

Brody almost jumped at the sound of her name being said. She must've been surprised Violet was even acknowledging she was there. The two girls haven't exactly been on speaking terms these past few weeks.

''Wait...I'm supposed to pick who I...'' Ducks eyes widened when he figured it out. ''Oh my God.''

''You gotta answer. That's the rules.'' Louis said, who was no doubt getting a kick out of his expense.

Duck sighed and thought about it for a moment, ''Okay, I would marry...''

The easiest option would've been to pick Clementine, then that meant he was flipping/killing either Aasim or Brody. But seeing as this was just a game, it wouldn't hurt to go a little crazy.

''Aasim.''

Louis laughed. ''I don't think you're his type, Ducky. He's into redheads.''

''Will you shut up!'' Aasim yelled at him.

''Oh come on. You know it's true.''

Duck cleared his throat.

''Then I would _flip_...''

''Flip, flip, flip, flip, flip.'' Louis and AJ chanted.

''Brody.''

There was a resounding 'oooh' from the group that made Brody blush slightly.

''So that means you're killing...'' Louis said.

''This is amazing,'' Tenn commented.

''Clem!''

''Wow, Duck. And yeah I thought I meant something to you.'' Clementine said, trying to sound upset but the smile on her face gave it away.

''Sorry, Clem.'' Duck chuckled.

''Is this great? We're all laughing and bonding. It's a nice break from thinking about homicidal assholes sneaking into our school to kidnap us.'' Louis said looking happy.

''It helps when you don't bring it up,'' Violet said dryly.

They each took another card and this time Clementine drew the highest and Aasim the lowest.

''Do your worst,'' Aasim said.

''I dare you to...'' Clementine paused. She looked around the group. When her eyes landed on Duck and a mischievous smile started to form, the boy had a bad feeling in his gut. ''Propose to Duck.''

''What!?'' Both boys exclaimed.

''Oh my God!'' Louis laughed.

''Oh come on, please pick something else,'' Aasim pleaded.

''Seriously Clem? Why that?'' Duck asked.

''What?'' Clementine asked, feigning innocence. ''You did say you'd marry Aasim,'' She then turned to the other boy. ''And you said to do my worst.''

''Wait, wait, wait! I gotta get Ruby for this!'' Louis said excitingly as he got up from the couch. Only for Aasim to grab him by the shoulder.

''Sit the fuck down!'' He said through gritted teeth as he forced the boy back down.

''And you guys have to make it look serious,'' Clementine told him.

Aasim got from up from the couch and went over to Duck who had also stood up. The situation they had gotten themselves in was embarrassing, to say the least, but there was nothing they could do except getting it over with.

Aasim cleared his throat before speaking, ''Okay then...Duck, will you-''

''Oh and you have to get down on one knee when you do it,'' Clementine added.

''You're kidding me!''

''I said make it look serious.''

Aasim let out a long sigh and started over.

''Duck, we have known each other for... quite some time. And... in that time, I have felt us get closer and closer with each passing day. And now I wish to make it official,'' He then bent down on one knee and took Ducks and pretended to hold a ring. ''Will you marry me?''

Before Duck could say anything, Ruby's voice rang through the courtyard.

''What the hell are you two doing?'' She asked when seeing the two boys performing a marriage proposal.

''No, no! It's a dare!'' Aasim tried to explain to her.

Everyone laughed at that. Both Duck and Aasim's faces went red with embarrassment as they returned to their seats.

"Oh man,'' Louis wiped tears from his eyes. ''That went way better than I thought it would. I think we all learned something about our good friend Aasim today. Mainly that he's a real romantic.''

''Shut up.''

As the game went on, Duck couldn't help but feel happy to see everyone laugh and smile again. It was the first time they had done that in a while. Perhaps Louis had a good idea after all.

"Okay everyone, let's finish up our work. I want all our defenses checked before bed." Violet said she stood up.

And with that, everyone got up and went back to their duties. It was Duck and Brody's turn to be on watch. The sun had set and there was still no sign of Lilly or the raiders, just a half dozen walkers going about their business.

''You don't think they'll show up anytime soon, do you?'' Brody asked, breaking the silence.

''No idea. But at least we'll see 'em coming if they do.'' Duck replied.

''Yeah, you're right.'' She agreed and took a deep breath. ''Just letting my nerves get the better of me for a moment.''

''It's okay if you're scared. Hell, I'd be shocked if no one around here wasn't.''

''It's not just that. All this waiting around for something to happen's been taking a toll,'' Brody explained. ''Though, I'm glad we had that little game earlier. Gave us a chance have some good laughs,'' She then smiled at him. ''Even if at other peoples expense.''

''Please don't remind me.'' Duck groaned, causing the girl next to him to laugh.

''If it makes you feel better, I think and you and Aasim make a great couple.'' She said teasingly.

''Gee, thanks,'' Duck said in a sarcastic manner. ''Though I'm pretty he's already got his sights on Ruby.''

''I still can't believe I never knew about that one.'' Brody shook her head. A short while passed until she spoke again. ''Just so you know, we all really appreciate what you, Clem and AJ are doing for us.''

Duck looked at her confused. ''What do you mean?''

''Staying and helping us prepare the school. You guys could've left after your wound got better. And considering we pretty much already kicked you out, I wouldn't really hold it against you.''

The thought hadn't even occurred to Duck. True, they could've just left and not get involved in this conflict any more than they already were. It would've been the easier thing to do. So why didn't they?

''It's just that we've been on the road for so long. Drifting from one place to another. But this school there's everyone we could've ever wanted. Food, walls and...'' He smiled at her. ''Good company.''

Brody's eyes widened slightly and her face turned a slight shade of red. ''Oh. Well, I'm...really glad you feel that way.''

''I, er...what I meant was that..." He said looking only to see Brody wasn't looking at him anymore but off into the distance at something in the woods.

''What the hell?'' She said.

''What is it?'' Duck asked her.

''There's something odd about those walkers just over there.'' Brody pointed to what she was talking about.

Duck tried to see what she meant but it was dark and the trees were in the way. He grabbed the binoculars sitting nearby and looked again. Sure enough, there were figures moving in an odd manner compared o the other walkers. But there was one figure whose face Duck recognized all too well and he felt his blood run cold when he remembered the name. Abel.

''Those aren't walkers.'' He said, putting down the binoculars and looking at Brody. ''We need to get the others.''


	10. Episode 2: Part 5

Everyone had gathered at the courtyard as soon as they heard of the arrival of the raiders. Duck made sure to grab his bow and quiver before meeting up with the others.

''I can't believe they're really here,'' Ruby said, sounding a slightly frightened by that fact.

''Don't worry. We've prepared for them,'' Clementine assured everyone. ''If they get inside, I'll keep them focused on me. That should give Willy and Mitch enough time to set up the bomb.''

Mitch nodded. ''It's ready. I'll set it up on one of their carts.''

''And after it does, we fall back into the admin building and lead them into the traps.'' Duck finished

''Those bastards are in for a rude fucking surprise,'' Aasim said with a grin.

''So, uh, you guys got some final words of encouragement?'' Louis asked, looking at Clementine and Duck, who have had experience in these kinds of situations.

''No matter what happens, always look out for-''

**_BANG!_**

The sound of a gunshot cut Clementine's words short and made everyone jump. Omar cried our in pain and fell to the ground clutching his one leg that was now leaking blood. Duck looked to the direction of where the shot came from and saw a brief of light from something up in the trees beyond the school walls.

''Sniper! Get to cover!'' His shout snapped everyone out of their shock and did as told.

Duck and Clementine grabbed and started carrying him to cover. Loud banging could be heard from the gate as if someone was trying to tear it down.

''Clementine! I know you're in there!" Lilly's voice shouted from the other side of the gate. ''Let us in or we'll do it ourselves!''

Once they were safe behind the overturned tables, Clementine looked to his left and right and saw her bow was resting on another table just a few feet my away, ''Shit! My bow!''

''Go, I'll stay with him.'' Duck told her.

Clementine nodded and made a run for her bow. Another gunshot sounded and the bullet missed her by just a few inches. She grabbed the bow and crouched down, pushing the table over and moving it closer to the rest. Immediately after, the gate came crashing open. Lilly could be seen along with seven other armed raiders, Abel being among them.

''Lilly!'' Clementine roared as she got up from her hiding spot with her bow drawn and aimed at the woman.

The raiders aimed their weapons at her but Lilly held a hand up to cease them from firing then looked back at her. ''Where're our new recruits?''

''You're not taking anyone with you. Not a damn one!''

''We'll see about that,'' Lilly said the turned to her group. ''Spread out and search the yard. If Clementine moves, shoot her.''

The raiders followed her orders and combed the yard. Duck scanned the trees again and found where the sniper was hiding. If a fight started, he would have to take that one out first or they wouldn't stand a chance.

''So where's Duck? I know I shot him back in the woods. But I also know he's alive and somewhere close by.'' Lilly spoke.

''And what makes you so sure you didn't kill him?" Clementine asked.

''You would've already killed me if that was the case,'' She stated. ''Not that I'd blame you. We'll take both of you AND that little boy of yours.''

''Over my dead body!'' Clementine snapped, her hand tightened on her bow.

Lilly simply shook her head.

''So that's how it's gonna be? Rather than listen to reason, you'll pick fights you can't win? God, you're just like him. You know that?'' She asked. ''Lee would've been heartbroken, knowing he taught all the wrong things.''

''Lee taught me everything he could. He wasn't perfect, nobody is, but he was a good person. Better than you'll ever be.''

''That's the problem, Clem. Good people only last so long in this world.''

Mitch and Willy had made it to the carts without being spotted and were planting the bomb. Clementine's distraction was working perfectly.

''If you won't help me find the others, I'll find someone who will. We've recruited from this school before.'' Lilly said. ''Minnie wanted to come along tonight, to tell you how she's adjusted to our life. How happy she is.''

Ducks eyes went wide as he realized really was trying to get the other kids to surrender. He could do nothing but listen as she continued talking.

''She said she had a girlfriend back here. Friends she missed. One guy who could always make her laugh, no matter what. And her little brother. She missed him the most.''

''Shit.'' Duck swore as he saw Tenn step out from cover and started to approach Lilly.

''Where are my sisters?'' The boy asked.

Lilly put on a fake smile and held out a hand for him. ''Let me take you to them.''

''I-I can't,'' Tenn took a step away from her. ''I just want them back. Please.''

''You'll be happier where they are.''

''Tenn no! She's lying to you!"' Clementine shouted.

Lilly took advantage of Tenn's distraction and quickly grabbed then wrapped her arm around his neck.

_**BOOM!**_

One of the carts exploded and the blast sent Lilly and the raiders to the ground. The horses, now free, panicked and ran away. The other kids got out from cover and began firing arrows at the raiders.

Duck quickly stood and aimed at the sniper. Remembering what Aasim taught him, breathe in, aim, breathe out, then released. Duck watched as the arrow hit its target and the silhouette of a person fall from the tree. He had no time to celebrate hitting his mark as the raiders recovered and some began firing at his position and forcing to take cover again.

Lilly tried to grab Tenn again but Mitch let out a battle cry and charged towards her. She responded by driving a knife into his neck.

A look of horror was plastered on Duck's face as he saw Mitch fall down, clutching his neck in a vain attempted to stop the blood of gushing out.

''Mitch no!'' Willy cried and tried to run to his friend but Aasim grabbed and pulled him back.

Mitch's suffering was ended when Lilly stabbed him through the eye, killing him instantly.

''Kill who you have to and take the rest!'' She ordered the raiders.

''Get inside!'' Clementine yelled as she shot one of the raiders.

As the others ran for the admin building, Duck tried to grab Omar and carry him but the boy wouldn't let him.

''I'm only gonna slow you down,'' He said. ''Go without me.''

Duck hesitated but nodded grimly before making his way inside, hoping he didn't just leave the boy to die. He slammed the doors to the admin building shut and made it to the staircase where Clementine was already crouched by the rope holding the brick trap.

A few seconds went by until the doors were kicked open and Abel came with his shotgun drawn. Two more raiders joined him and slowly made their way to the staircase. When one got close enough, Clementine cut the rope and duffel bag filled with bricks came falling down on the unsuspecting raider. The sound of bones shattering echoed throughout the room.

''No!'' A female raider cried for her fallen companion.

Duck and the other quickly ran up the stairs as Abel and the raiders began firing at them. Once reaching the top, Duck, and Clementine pushing the couch towards the staircase. When the female raider came into view, they gave one final push and sent the couch tumbling down the stairs and crashing into her.

Abel then appeared holding a flaming Molotov in one hand.

''I told Lilly you wouldn't cooperate!'' He said, before throwing the Molotov at them.

Clementine grabbed AJ and jumped out the away. The fire had spread quickly and separated the trio from the other kids. They went into the office to escape the smoke.

''AJ, the door, lock it!'' Clementine coughed.

The boy was only halfway to doing so when Abel ran and kicked the door wide open and sending AJ flying to the ground in the process.

Abel ignored him and stared at Duck and Clementine with a sneer on his face. "Your friend Lilly ain't around this time. But don't worry, I'll make this quick."

Having run out of arrows, Duck gripped one end of his bow and swung it like a baseball bat at Abel's head. But the adult easily caught the other end with his one hand and punched Duck in the chest with the other. The blow was so hard that Duck lost grip on his bow and was flown back, unable to breathe properly.

The man then shifted his focus to Clementine, but as he tried to grab her, She pulled out her knife and slashed his hand. Abel let out a pained and scream before punching her in the face with his good hand. Clementine knocked back against the desk and grabbed her arm, twisted behind her back just like he did to AJ, and pinned her against it.

Even as Clementine screamed in pain as her arm was being twisted, Abel spoke, ''Y'know, whenever I see someone like you: weak, small, afraid, and still alive? Well, I bet a lot of folks died to get you here.'

Duck's breathing slowly started returning to normal and he tried crawling his way over to the two. Hearing Clementine's screams of pain ignited something inside him. A surge of adrenaline kicked in. He saw her knife close by and grabbed it.

''LEAVER HER ALONG YOU BASTARD!'' Duck scream as he got up and charged at them.

Abel barely had any time to responded he felt the knife get driven deep into his shoulder. He let out an agonized scream and released his grip on Clementine. But Duck wasn't finished with him yet. He charged once again at the man and sent both of them out onto the edge of the balcony. As the two of them struggled, the wooden rails broke off and Abel lost his balance. He grabbed Duck by his arm and they fell over the balcony and hit the ground below.

Surprisingly, Duck's body didn't feel as badly as he thought he would from the fall. Had Abel not been there to cushion him, he would've definitely have been dead. The man beneath wouldn't stop screaming and cursing when Duck looked to his right he saw that Abel's one leg was bent in an unnatural angle as well the bone sticking out.

He looked up only to see the barrel of a rifle mere inches from his face and Lilly breathing rapidly.

''Shit, this should be easy.'' She said.

Duck glared at her. ''What's the matter? You lose your taste in this?''

''Shut the fuck up!'' Lilly snapped. ''And be grateful you're more useful to alive than dead.''

Before Duck say anything, Lilly lifted her booted foot and bringing it down on his head.

**_To Be Continued..._**


	11. Episode 3: Part 1

_**Episode 3: My Fathers Sins**_

* * *

The smell of sea salt filled his nostrils as Duck gazed out at the vast ocean, leaning against the railing of the all too familiar fishing boat. He looked down at the calm water and could make out his own reflection. He was a lot younger now, probably about nine or ten, and wore the same clothes he had gotten post-apocalypse, blue jeans, a long white sleeve shirt with an orange button that looked just a little too big for him. Even his fathers' old hat didn't look as bad as it usually was.

''Damn fish ain't making it easy today.'' Came a voice from behind.

Duck turned around and saw a man sitting on the other side of the boat with a fishing pole in his hands. He couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips, even with his back turned, Duck knew who it was. He made his way over and took a seat next to the man.

Kenny also looked different from the last time Duck had seen him. He were a simple shirt and pants but no hat. And the absence of his long beard made him look twenty years younger than he actually was. The man gave a small small smile when noticing his son sitting next to him.

''Still wearing that old thing, huh?'' He said, looking at the hat.

''It's still keeping the sun out of my face.'' Duck's voice came out sounding like his childish self.

They both shared a chuckle at that. Duck knew this was all just a dream, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. A part of him wished he could just stay here forever.

''God, I love being out here,'' Kenny said, closing his eyes and taking in a breath of the salty air. ''Helps take my mind away from all my problems. Even if it's just for a little while.'' He then turned to face Duck again. ''I imagine that's why you're here too?''

''Yeah.''

''You wanna talk about it?''

_No, not really._ Duck thought, but he did anyway. ''I tried keeping my promise, dad. I tried to keep Clementine and AJ safe. But it feels like no matter how careful we are or where we go, trouble just seems to be waiting for us around every corner. Just like how it has now. Only this time I-''

''You think this might finally be it for you?'' Kenny finished. Duck nodded.

''There's something else as well.'' Duck admitted hesitantly.''I've been feeling this...darkness inside of me. I let it get the best of me when I found out Marlon wanted to give me, Clem and AJ away to Lilly. The thing is...part of me was _glad_ AJ killed Marlon even when I knew it was wrong. I try to ignore it, bury it deep and pretend it's not there. But sometimes it comes when I get really angry or feel powerless, almost like its reminding that it's still there and wants to show itself.''

''Yeah, I know that feeling all too well myself.'' Kenny sighed. ''What I did to Carver, and Jane...I did thinking I was protecting the people I cared about. But that wasn't the case at all. That same darkness you're talking about? I let it take over and its made me do things I regret to this day. I'm sure it gets the best of us sometimes, especially in a world this fucked up. But we all have a choice: either let that darkness consume us, or fight and prove we are the ones in control. So when the time comes I know you will make the right decision.''

_And what if I don't?_ Duck didn't have the heart to ask out loud. Too afraid to hear the answer. ''I wish you here. You, mom, Lee and all the good people Clem and I met.''

Kenny put his around his son's shoulder and pulled him close in an embrace. ''Me too, Duck, me too. But you know that can't happen. You just gotta stay strong. For me, for mom, for yourself, and most importantly: the family you still have.''

Duck knew his father was absolutely right. He stared down at the water again, and it reflected a much older version of himself. The one that's seen and done things that robbed whatever childhood innocence he had left. But also the one that wasn't done fighting yet.

''I think...'' He said with his usual, deeper voice. ''I think it's time I went back now.''

Kenny smiled. ''I'm proud to call you my son. Never forget that.''

Duck smiled back and closed his eyes.

* * *

When Duck woke up again, his vision was blurry. He tried to sit up but felt something hit him and wrap its small arms around his neck tightly.

''Duck!'' It said his name.

''AJ?'' Duck said. He blinked a few times and indeed it was the little boy holding him. He looked around to see other familiar faces such as Brody, Aasim and Omar. They were all packed inside a small moving cage. ''What the hell happened?''

Aasim answered him. ''Raiders got us. Tossed into this carriage and taking to God-knows-where.''

''What about Clem? And the others?''

''Clem was still in the office. I saw you and Abel fall off the balcony and panicked!'' AJ said frantically. ''I thought you might be hurt so went and tried to help but...''

Duck put a hand on the boy's shoulder to calm him down. Brody told the rest of the story. ''When they were taking us away, all we saw were walkers heading straight for the school. We don't know what happened to others.''

Suddenly a dark-skinned woman banged against their metal cage. ''No talking!'' She exclaimed.

Duck noticed Omar was clutching his wounded leg.

''How's your leg doing?'' He asked, making to keep his voice down.

''Hurts really bad,'' Omar replied.

''Duck, what are we gonna do? How are we gonna get back to the others?'' AJ asked.

Everyone else turned to look at Duck, hoping he had an answer to those questions. But in truth, Duck was just as lost as they were on what to do. Even if they somehow managed to get away from the raiders, there wasn't really anything stopping them from going to the school and taking everyone away again. Clementine and the others probably didn't even know where they were, so them staging a rescue was also unlikely.

With a defeated sigh, Duck shook his head. ''I don't know, AJ. I really don't.''

''Hey!'' The woman yelled again. ''If I have to tell you kids no more talking again, I'm cutting one of your fucking tongues out!''

Not keen on testing the raiders patience, the group remained silent for the entire ride. They arrived at a small pier where a riverboat was docked. There were several more armed raiders patrolling on the boat and the surrounding area. When the cart finally came to a stop, the female raider opened up their cage.

''All of you out!'' She ordered. ''And a heads-up to any of you thinking about making a run for it: I won't miss.''

They all complied and started to get out. Duck and Aasim had to help Omar because of his leg.

''Remember me?'' The woman then asked Duck once they were all out of the cart.

''Huh?'' Duck looked at her confused. He had no idea who this woman was. But then he saw a red hole on her shoulder and quickly realized she was the sniper he shot down. ''Oh yeah. That's what you get for hurting my friends.''

The woman growled and backhanded him across the face.

''Leave him alone!'' AJ shouted at the woman.

''You want one too, boy?'' She raised her hand again.

''That's enough, Dorian.'' The familiar, stern voice of Lilly said as she arrived. She looked at the rest of the kids as she spoke. ''I'm sure you're all still upset over what happened last night at your school. But know that all of it could've been avoided if you just cooperated with us. Hopefully, you now realize that crossing us is the worst thing you can possibly do, and will instead follow our orders and stay in line.''

''What are you gonna do with us?'' Brody asked.

''For now, you'll be kept on the ship. And in a few days we head to the Delta where you'll be trained to protect your new home.''

''Our friends will come for us,'' AJ said defiantly.

This only made Lilly chuckle slightly. ''Good. It'll save us the trouble of getting them ourselves.'' Her eyes drifted to Omar and his hurt leg. ''Take that one to the doctor and get that wound looked at. I want these people in good condition when we get back. Put the rest away.''

A male raider grabbed Omar by the arm and forced him to walk towards the ship, not even bothering to be gentle. The rest of them were escorted to what served as the ships holding cells. Aasim was put in one room while Brody and AJ were put in the room across from him. But before Duck enter a cell, Dorian grabbed him by the shoulder.

''Lilly wants to have a word with you.'' She said.

''You can't take him!'' AJ exclaimed.

Dorian glared at him, then looked to back at Duck. ''You gonna make your boy stop running his mouth, or should I?'' She asked.

''It's okay, AJ. I'll be back.'' Duck reassured him and followed the woman.

He wasn't what Lilly could possibly want to have a word with him about. But he knew he wasn't gonna like it one bit.


	12. Episode 3: Part 2

Lilly had been waiting for them on deck, leaning against the railing and looking out at the forest. When they finally arrived, Duck noticed she wasn't alone. With her was a girl that couldn't have been any older than him with short ginger hair. In her hands was a very familiar weapon.

_That's...my crossbow!_ Duck thought. He was wondering what had happened to it.

''You and your friends proved to more a lot more troublesome than I thought. Lost some good soldiers getting you. Abel included.'' Lilly spoke.

Duck said nothing.

''I'm not entirely mad. More impressed by how you guys managed to pull the whole thing off.'' She turned to face Duck. ''Whose idea was it? Yours? Clem?''

He didn't answer.

''Silent treatment? Fine. Maybe something else will be more chatty. Like that little boy of yours.''

''Don't you fucking touch him.'' Duck finally spoke, glaring at her.

Lilly's lips curled upwards. She hit a nerve. ''You and Clem seem to care a great deal about him. Don't think I haven't noticed. So protective of him. Almost like...family.'' She said. ''And you'll always protect your family, won't you? Sad that won't be the case forever.''

''Is that a threat?''

''It's a fact. A walker you didn't spot. A bullet you couldn't dodge. A desperate cry for help that brings the herd. It's what happened to so many others. Who's to say it won't happen you? We can help protect your family, and in return, you help protect our home.''

''Like you 'helped' Mitch?'' Duck asked angrily.

''Mitch?'' Lilly asked in confusion.

''The boy you killed last night!''

Duck might not have liked Mitch all that much. He would go as far as to say the boy was his least favorite person at the boarding school. But that didn't mean he deserved to die the way he did.

The realization then flashed in Lilly's eyes. ''I was just defending myself.''

Duck let out a humorless chuckle. ''You got a funny definition for 'murder'.''

''You want to talk about murder?'' She asked darkly. ''Alright then, remember the St. Johns dairy?''

''Hard not to.'' Duck replied. Though he wondered why she was bringing that place up.

''They put us in a meat locker. My dad, Larry, wouldn't stop banging and yelling at them to let us out until he had a heart attack. I don't know if you remember but he had a very weak heart. So I tried to giving him CPR, Lee helped me. You know what happened next?''

When Duck shook his head, she answered. ''Your dad smashed mine's head in with a salt lick.''

''What?'' Duck asked as his eyes widen in shock.

''Oh, you didn't know? Not surprising. He was adamant he did it to keep my dad from turning and killing us all.'' Lilly said. ''Maybe he was justified, maybe he wasn't. Doesn't change the fact that he's got my fathers blood on his hands.''

Duck tried to process what he had learned. He knew his dad had something to do with Larry dying but he never knew all the details until now.

''So you hate me for what my dad did to yours?'' He asked.

''No. I don't believe in that 'Sins of the father' crap.'' Lilly replied. ''If anything, I actually liked you, and your mom. She worked hard and cared for everyone's well-being. Unlike your dad. It's such a shame she's dead.''

''Don't you talk about my mom!'' Duck said angrily.

''How did she die, huh? Walker bite? Gunshot?'' She guessed.

''Shut up!'' Duck yelled, taking a step towards her. Dorian and the other girl aimed their weapons at him but Lilly held up her hand.

''We're done here, for now.'' She said. ''Put him with the others.''

''Yes, ma'am,'' Dorian replied.

She and the other girl took him away and put him in the cell with Brody and AJ. The room was smaller than his dorm at the boarding school. It only had one bunk bed and a tiny window.

''Are you okay?'' AJ asked him. Dorian had left but the girl stayed behind.

''Yeah. Don't worry.'' Duck replied.

''Oh my God...'' Brody muttered and saw the girl on the other side of the cell, looking like she saw a ghost. ''Minnie? Is that really you?''

''Holy shit! Minnie?!'' Aasim exclaimed when she saw her too.

''Hey guys,'' She awkwardly greeted them.''I heard about what happened at the school.''

Duck stared at the girl, shocked to find out that she was one of Tenn's sisters that were taken away last year.

Minnie then narrowed her eyes at him. ''You must be Duck. I heard you and your girlfriend took over after Marlon died.'' She said in a cold tone that surprised him.

''She's not my girlfriend. And we didn't take over anything. We just helped the others defend the school.'' Duck explained.

''Yeah. And look where that got you all.''

''Well what the hell did you want us to do? Just let them take us?'' He asked her angrily. He couldn't understand why she was acting like he and Clementine were the bad guys and not Lilly.

''At least then nobody would've died.'' She stated.

Before Duck say something sharp back, Brody asked first. ''Minnie, if you're here then where's Sophie?''

Minnie let out a sigh. ''Sophie's...'' She struggled to say. ''Sophie's dead.''

Brody let out an audible gasp at the news.

''Minerva!'' Dorian's voice shouted from one end of the hallway. ''You're on firewood duty!"'

''Yes ma'am!'' Minnie replied, then looked back at Duck and the others with a serious look. ''Listen, if want to make it through this alive, then do as they say. These people don't fuck around.''

She turned to leave but Brody spoke. ''Minnie wait!'' She said. Minnie stopped and looked back at her. ''I'm sorry. About what Marlon and I did. I'm really sorry.''

Minnie stared at Brody for a moment before quietly saying. ''So am I.''

As soon as she left, Brody began pacing around their cell, muttering to herself. ''Oh my God...fuck...just...fuck!''

''Hey, hey, hey. It's alright. Just take a deep breath.'' Duck said he put his hands on her arms, realizing she was having a panic attack.

Brody did as told and immediately calmed down. ''Thank you.'' She said softly. Duck let go of her and she went to sit down in the corner.

''Duck,'' AJ tugged at his arm to get his attention. ''I've still got my knife.''

''Really?'' Duck asked him, surprised.

AJ nodded and took out the small knife to show him. ''I hid it my sock so they weren't able to find it.''

''Good. That's really good.''

Duck took the knife. The blade was dull and barely the size of his thumb but it was better than nothing. He looked around the cell for a way to escape. The windows were too small to climb through so that was off the table. The cell door had a metal sheet at the bottom and on the other side was a latch. He knelt down to inspect the sheet and noticed it was very rusty around the edges. Perhaps if he used the knife to chip it away, he could reach the latch, but that would no doubt make a lot of noise.

''Duck, do you think Clem will come for us?'' AJ asked.

''I don't doubt she'll try to.'' Duck replied. Better to not get the kids hopes up so soon. AJ let out a loud yawn. ''Tired?''

''Yeah. Haven't slept since the attack.''

''Well, there's a bunk over there. Why don't you get some rest?''

AJ shook his head. ''I don't think I can. Not in this place. Not with so many bad people here.''

''I'm right here,'' Duck assured him ''And I'll need you well rested and ready for when we get a chance to escape.''

The boy seemed to think about it for a moment before agreeing. ''Okay.'' He went over to the bunk and laid on it.

Duck noticed Brody sitting by herself in the corner and went over. ''How're are you holding up?'' He asked as he sat down next to her.

''Okay I guess,'' She replied. ''Just seeing Minnie again, and finding out what happened to Sophie...''

She didn't finish that sentence but Duck decided to leave it be. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling knowing what happened to the twins.

''You ever think about how things were before all of this started?'' She asked suddenly.

''Every now and then.'' Duck replied after giving it some thought.

''I sometimes do whenever I'm feeling stressed. It's calming to think about the good times.'' Brody said, smiling slightly. ''Then think about how all this might just be one gigantic nightmare and we're all living completely lives. Who knows? We might even have still met.''

Duck laughed a little at that. ''I don't think you would've liked me when I was younger,'' He said. ''I was a pretty annoying kid back then.''

''It's not like I was the perfect kid either. Why do you think I was sent to a boarding for troubled youth in the first place?''

''I'm guessing it had to with your, uh, panic attacks.'' Duck replied.

Brody nodded. ''It was a lot more common when I was little. My parents honestly thought me going to Ericson's would help.'' She explained.

They talked for some time about their families, what they did, and what their happiest memories were. Duck found himself enjoying their conversation so much he almost forgot they were being held captive.

''Hey...there's something I've been meaning to tell you,'' Brody said, sounding somewhat nervous. ''I know this isn't the best of times, but I need to get it off my chest,'' She took a deep breath then looked him in the eyes. ''I like you.''

Duck stared at her wide-eyed. ''Really?''

''Yeah.'' Brody nodded. ''It started soon after you guys came back after we kicked you out. Then slowly I...started to care a lot about you. But with everything going on at the time I kept to myself.' She admitted. ''But I really need you to know now in case anything...bad ends up happening.''

''Nothing bad will happen.'' Duck firmly said.

''Do you really believe that?'' She asked skeptically.

''Maybe not,'' He shrugged. ''But I know we'll do everything we can to make it through this. Together.''

''So...does that mean...''

''I like you too,'' Duck said with a warm smile. He had developed some feelings for Brody, and finding that she had those same feelings for him made it easier to admit. ''And if we can get back home safely, well, I guess we'll figure things out then.''

He took her hand gave a gentle squeeze. Brody smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder. Make it out alive. That's all they needed to do. If only it was an easier thing to do than say.

* * *

That night something big was happening outside the ship. From their cells, the kids could hear the raiders shouting and the sound of nonstop gunfire. Aasim decided to see for himself what was going. With the help of Omar, he was able to peer through the window of their cell.

''What's going on out there?'' Duck asked him.

''Walkers!'' Aasim replied. ''A whole fucking herd of them!''

Upon hearing those words, Duck knew this was exactly what they needed to escape. He could only count a handful of times he was actually glad that a herd of walkers was converging towards them. They would serve as the perfect distraction.

''Alright everyone. Time to get the hell out of here.'' He announced.

''What's the plan?'' Brody asked.

''The raiders will be too busy on the herd to watch over us. These metal sheets on the doors aren't strong. I've got a knife to chip it off and pull the latch. Once we're all out, we make our way to the nearest exit, jump off and swim to the opposite shore.''He explained. ''Any questions?''

They shook their heads.

''Good.''

Duck got to work on chipping the metal hinges off. He hoped the gunfire would be enough to drown out all the noise he was making. When the hinges were finally off, he stuck his hand out and grabbed the latch.

''Someone's coming!'' Aasim warned.

Duck immediately pulled his hand back and stood up. Lilly had arrived along with Dorian and Minnie. They stopped in front of his cell and Lilly pointed a gun at him.

''Back up.'' She ordered.

He did as he was told, keeping the knife hidden behind his back. AJ took it from him and hid it in his pocket just in time before Lilly opened the door and came in.

''What do you want now?'' Duck asked.

''Just wanted to see if you finally agree to my offer,'' Lilly replied.

''Sorry to disappoint. But my answers no.''

''You're only making this harder for yourself,'' She sat down on the bunk bed, gun still trained at them. ''My dad was a military man, and when I was a kid, he all kinds of rules. The thing that bugged him the most was waste. If I ever left a light after leaving a room, he'd flip. No matter how many times he ranted about the cost of electricity. I could never remember to hit that switch.''

''So one day, he let our power get cut. He liked to illustrate how actions have consequences. No more t.v, no more hair dryer, no more ice cream sandwiches. Just a miserable family sitting in the dark. I never left the lights on again after that.''

''Is there a point to any of this?'' Duck asked.

''My father had his faults, but he showed me the effectiveness of teaching by example,'' Lilly explained. ''Maybe I should tell you a story. Let's call it 'The parable of the twins'. Two girls were taken from their home and brought to a new place to live.''

Duck glanced over at Minnie then back at Lilly.

''They had to leave their friends and family behind, and that was hard at first. They shed a lot of tears. But the new place was a good place. The people there grew corn and raised pigs, and the twins ate well for the first time in years. They were given clean clothes and beds. They were given guns and trained to use them. The people there were kind to these girls. All that was asked in return was to defend the group.''

''You see, this place had a lot of enemies. Killers and thieves who wanted what they had. They needed help fighting, or they'd lose everything they'd built. Their crops, their power, even their lives. One of the girls saw this was a place worth fighting for, and her tears dried up. But the other twin...she could never forget her old home. She rejected every gift, every opportunity, and stirred up trouble every chance she got. She convinced her sister to help steal a raft and leave on the river. They didn't get far.''

Then without taking her eyes off of Duck Lilly asked, ''What happened then, Minerva?''

''I killed her.'' The girl calmly answered.


	13. Episode 3: Part 3

The reaction from all the kids was very much the same.

''What the fuck!?'' Aasim exclaimed.

''Jesus Christ,'' Omar muttered.

''She was your sister, Minnie!'' Brody said with a horrified look. ''Why would you do that!?''

''Yes, Minerva, why would you do that?'' Lilly asked casually.

''She was twisting my head with her lies,'' Minnie replied.

''And?''

''I made a mistake. I needed to show my loyalty to the place I call home.''

Duck was left speechless. The fact that this girl could just stand there and justify killing her own sister in such a calm manner made him feel sick to his stomach. It didn't help he could feel that familiar sense of anger starting to burn inside him.

''Bullshit!'' Duck snapped at her. ''You did it to save your own fucking skin, didn't you!? You're no better than Marlon!''

He wanted to hit the girl so badly, but just one step made her aim the crossbow at him.

''Like it or not, you're one of my people now, Duck. And soon, so will Clem and the rest of your little friends,'' Lilly said. ''The question now is, which twin are you going to be? The loyal one? Or the dead one?''

Duck gritted his teeth as he glared at the woman. ''You think you're some tough bitch, don't you? Like nothing can hurt you. But we both know what you really are: A liar, a coward, a murderer, and most of all...just a scared little girl trying to impress daddy.''

For just a split second, Duck saw a crack in Lilly's otherwise stony expression. A look of both shock and anger that vanished as quickly as it appeared. The woman stood up, slid the gun inside its holster, and stared at him with cold eyes.

''You've got quite a sharp tongue. I think we need to fix that.'' She said in a calm tone.

Then without warning, Lilly's fist connected with Duck's stomach. He grunted in pain and sunk to his knees.

''Stop!'' AJ tried to intervene but Dorian grabbed him by the neck and shoved him to the floor.

''I'd stay out of this if I were you.'' She warned.

Lilly went behind Duck, grabbed both his arms and held them behind his back. No matter how hard Duck tried, he couldn't break free from her vice-like hold. Dorian grabbed his face and held his mouth open with one hand while the other pulled out a long knife.

''Minnie, please! This is wrong and you know it!'' Brody pleaded but Minnie didn't react, she simply kept her eyes on AJ and Brody with her crossbow trained at them.

''If you keep struggling you'll make it worse,'' Dorian told Duck as she brought the knife closer to his mouth.

But Duck continued to struggle like a wild animal desperate to break free from a trap. Just as he felt the tip of the blade make contact with his tongue, AJ jumped and buried his tiny knife into Dorian's leg. The woman let out a pained scream and punched him in the face. AJ fell down and was clutching his nose with both hands. Dorian pulled the knife out of her leg and looked at the little boy with pure anger.

''Son of a bitch!'' She yelled, kicking AJ in the stomach and making him cry out in pain.

''That's enough,'' Lilly ordered before the woman could hurt him further.

''He stabbed me!''

''I said that's enough!''

Dorian reluctantly obeyed. AJ slowly got up, his nose was now bloody. He looked at Lilly with burning hatred in his eyes.

''You deserve to die.'' He said. Duck could see his hands trembling with rage. ''We'll kill you!''

''You really think you can kill me?'' Lilly asked.

''I know I can! I'll put a bullet through the side of your head!'' AJ yelled.

''Big talk for a little guy.''

''I already killed Marlon. He might not have been evil but you are!''

Lilly raised an intrigued eyebrow at that. ''So YOU killed Marlon,'' She said. Duck didn't like where this was going. ''I bet you would make a great soldier.''

''Leave him alone, Lilly!'' He said.

But the woman ignored him. ''Let's go have a chat. Just us.''

Lilly shoved Duck down on the floor, grabbed AJ by the arm and pulled him out of the cell.

''No!'' Duck tried to reach them but the cell door was shut and locked.

''Duck!'' AJ called, his face now looking frightened.

''Keep an eye on them, Minerva,'' Lilly ordered as she and Dorian left along with AJ in tow.

''Leave my brother alone, you bitch!'' Duck yelled at her as they disappeared from view.

He pulled at the metal door furiously in a vain attempt to tear it off. When that didn't work, he glared at Minnie.

''Don't look at me like that!'' She barked. ''This is the only way we'll survive!''

Aasim spoke up. ''Survive? Is that all that fucking matters to you now, Minnie!? What about your friends!? What about Tenn!?''

''You all need to understand. This is the only way. Lay down, stay in line, or you die. The people you love die.'' Minnie explained as she faced him. She wasn't aware that Duck had slipped his hand through the metal sheet again and pulled the latch upwards. He stood up just in time before she turned back to him. ''If you just do what they say, you can live. You can have a nice life. Be rewarded like I was.''

Duck wanted to scream at her. Tell how wrong and insane she was. But AJ still needed to be rescued, so he kept things short. ''You assholes screwed with the wrong family.''

He rushed forward and kicked the cell door wide open which ended up hitting Minnie, knocking the crossbow out of her hands. Duck grabbed the latch to Aasim and Omar's cell, but as he was about to pull it, Minnie withdrew a large knife and attempted to stab him but he caught her wrists in his hands. Had he reacted just a second later, he'd be dead.

''You're the fucking problem here!'' Minnie yelled and kicked Duck's leg, forcing him to his knees. ''I won't let you get them all killed!''

She was now on top of him, desperately trying to plunge the knife into his throat. She would've been able to if a crossbow bolt hadn't suddenly pierced through her shoulder and causing her to scream in agony. Duck took this opportunity to grab Minnie by the head and slam her against the wall, knocking her out cold. As he got up, he saw Brody standing just a few feet away, his crossbow in her hands.

''Are you okay?'' She asked.

''Yeah. Thank you.'' He managed to reply.

They got Aasim and Omar out of their cell. Gunfire could still be heard echoing throughout the ship. Duck hoped the herd wouldn't end up being a problem for them too during their escape.

''Come on, we have to get the hell out of here!'' Aasim said.

''I'm not leaving without AJ. You guys find a way off. I'll get AJ and meet you outside.'' Duck said as he knelt down and picked up Minnie's knife.

''But Duck-'' Brody tried to protest.

''Just do as I say!'' He cut her off. Then gently added. ''Please.''

Duck could see she wanted to protest again but reluctantly agreed. Brody held out the crossbow for him to take but he shook his head. ''Keep it. If any raiders catch you, don't hesitate.''

''You and AJ better come back.'' She said.

He watched the three leave before heading in the opposite direction. Duck climbed to the top of the stairs and reached the deck. It was a chilly night outside and the moon illuminated the deck through the clouds above. He heard voices at the opposite and slowly crept towards it.

''We'll focus that energy. Sharpen it.'' Lilly's voice could be heard. ''I've known Clementine and Duck since before this all started. They'll come around.''

Duck continued to get close and made sure to keep an eye out for any other raiders.

''You'll come around too, once you see what we have to offer. Plenty of food and comfortable beds. You three can even share a room.''

''Found this one sneaking over the docks.'' A male raider spoke.

Duck peeked from behind a large box to see what was going on. Two raiders had shown up with an unarmed person. His eyes widened when he saw it was a young boy he knew.

''Tenn!'' AJ exclaimed in surprise.

''Tennessee? Did you get lost?'' Lilly asked.

_If he's here, then Clem and others can't be too far._ Duck thought.

''Ma'am, he wasn't alone. I've got something else to show you.'' Said a female raider with blonde hair.

The two raiders that took Tenn were headed Ducks way. He quickly hid behind the box and waited for them to pass. Once they did he followed Lilly and the others as they moved to the other end of the deck.

''Found this in the herd.'' The female raider said, pointing at the body of a walker sitting limp against the wall.

Lilly studied it for a moment, then reached down and pulled at its head. The mask came off and revealed to be James. The boy who had saved Duck, AJ, and Clementine from walkers weeks ago.

''No wonder there were so many walkers than usual,'' Lilly said. ''Must've thought you were clever, leading those walkers here. Or was that Clementine's idea?''

While they were all focused on James, Duck moved to find a good position to attack.

''Nothing to say?'' Lilly asked.

''You don't fucking scare me.'' James spat.

''Is that so?''

''You force your ways onto others. Because you're afraid. Because you're weak.''

''I give my people a cause to fight for,'' Lilly retorted then looked down at AJ. ''The thing about people like him, AJ, is that they're too broken to fit into a community. They won't fight for anyone but themselves.'' She looked back at James with disgust and spat at his feet. ''Kill him.''

''No!'' AJ yelled.

_It's now or never._ Duck charged out of his hiding spot and towards Lilly. Who reacted quickly and grabbed his wrist before he could stab her with the knife. The female raider recovered from her initial shock and aimed her rifle at Duck, but James leaped at her and the two struggled for the rifle.

Duck tried pressing the knife against Lilly's throat, but the woman had a strong grip on his wrist and with a quick twist, he was forced to drop the knife. She then kneed him in the stomach and threw him against the wall. Lilly gave Duck no time to recover, she slammed him against the wall again and pressed her arm against his throat, cutting off his air supply.

''You made a big fucking mistake!'' She said through gritted teeth.

AJ took the knife and stabbed her in the thigh but Lilly only grunted and gave him a swift kick in the chest. This did, however, give Duck enough time to bring his fist up and connect it with the side of her head. Lilly released her hold on him and stumbled back, a hand on where she had been hit. Duck coughed a few times as his lungs received air again.

''Enough of this.'' Lilly reached behind her and pulled out a pistol.

Ducks eyes widened as she aimed it at him. While this was happening, James had dealt with the blonde raider by shoving her over the railing and to her death below. When he saw Lilly pointing the gun at Duck, he didn't hesitate to rush in to help. Unfortunately, Lilly had spotted him and fired a shot in his direction. He landed on the floor clutching his right ear. Taking advantage of the temporary distraction, Duck tackled her. This caught Lilly by surprise and she lost her grip the gun as they landed on the floor.

Duck saw the gun just a few feet away and scrambled to get it. Lilly grabbed him by the foot but Duck kicked her in the face with the other. He grabbed the gun, got up and turned to point at Lilly who was still on the floor. When she saw their roles were now reversed, she knew there was no point in fighting back anymore.

''Fuck.'' She muttered, then raised her hands up in surrender. ''Please don't. You've won, okay? It's over.''

Duck let out out a bitter laugh. ''Really? After all the shit you've done, you think begging is gonna saved you?''

''I don't know,'' Lilly replied. ''What I do know is...I don't wanna die.''

''I'm sure Mitch didn't either. Yet you put a knife through him and didn't even blink!'' He spat. Part of him found it quite ironic how things turned out in the end. ''Karma's a bitch ain't it?''

Lilly let out a defeated sigh and lowered her hands.''Okay, do it.'' She said quietly, staring down at the floor. ''Maybe I'll get to see my dad again. Wherever he is.''

Duck froze, the mention of Lilly's father made him think of his own. He thought back to the conversation they had in his dream. _But we all have a choice: either let that darkness consume us, or fight and prove it has no control. So when the time comes I know you will make the right decision. _The words echoed in his mind. Was Duck really going to go through with us this? Kill an unarmed woman? She no doubt deserved it after everything she's done to him and his friends. Then he thought of how similar this whole situation was between AJ and Marlon, and how he told AJ that killing him was wrong, was murder. If he killed Lilly now, not only would he be a massive hypocrite, but he would be no more of a monster than she was. And the darkness he tried so hard to keep away have control over him.

After letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, Duck lowered the gun. Lilly stared at him in both shock and relief. Suddenly, there was an audible explosion that shook the entire riverboat and a cloud of smoke rose off the chimney.

''What the-?''

_**BOOM!**_

Duck couldn't finish his sentence when another, more powerful, explosion sent him flying into the wall.

_**To Be Continued...**_


	14. Episode 4: Part 1

A/N: Well Ladies and gentlemen, this is it, the final episode and end of the story. I would like to thank all of you who have read and enjoyed my work. I greatly appreciate it. And I hope you all enjoy these last few chapters.

* * *

**_Episode 4: No More Running_**

* * *

He could only see darkness. It took Duck a moment to figure out his eyes were just closed. Slowly his senses were returning to him. He remembered the explosion on the boat, but everything afterward was completely blank. With a groan, Duck forced his eyelids open.

All he saw was chaos.

He tried to take in his surroundings in better detail. It looked like the boat was tilted to one side. Had it not been for the lifeboat getting in the way, he would've fallen into the water. Which was now infested with walkers.

''Duck!'' He heard a familiar voice shout from above.

Duck looked up, and his sense kicked came back to him tenfold. Above him was AJ holding onto a piece of broken wood for dear life.

''AJ!'' He shouted back, frantically thinking of a way to help him. ''You have to let go! I'll catch you!''

''Promise?'' AJ asked.

''I promise.'' Duck replied and stood up with his arms raised. ''On the count of three. One. Two. Three!''

AJ hesitantly let go and slid down the boat. Duck grabbed hold of him just in time and set the boy down next to him.

''What happened?'' AJ asked him, referring to the fire and destruction all around them.

''I don't know. But let's just focus on getting down before this ship sinks.'' Duck said. He looked around for any way they could get off. Even if they could use the lifeboat it wouldn't help since the walkers below would capsize them once they hit the water.

''There!'' AJ pointed to the roof of the docks. ''We can climb down from there.''

''We need to jump then,'' Duck said. He then knelt down and looked at AJ. ''Get on my back and hold tight.''

AJ did as told and climbed onto Duck's back, wrapping his arms and legs tightly around him. Duck stepped to the very edge of the lifeboat, using the rope to stable him. After a moment of mentally preparing himself, he made the jump and landed on his feet with a _thud_. AJ got off him and they climbed off the roof using the large boxes. Just as they were about to leave, however, an arrow whizzed past Ducks face and impaled itself into the wooden beam next to him.

''Where do you think you're going?'' A male raided said as he pulled out another arrow. Duck quickly grabbed AJ and they took cover behind the box. ''You kill my people, sink my boat, and you think you can walk outta here? Fuck you!''

Duck looked around for something he could use as a weapon before the raider got too close to them. He then spotted the arrow from earlier, figured it was better than nothing, and quickly grabbed it. Once the raider got close enough, Duck jammed the arrow into his foot and grabbed his bow. The two struggled over it until AJ punched the raider in the crotch, making him groan in pain and let go of the bow.

An arrow flew by and went through the side of the raider's neck and came out the other end, causing him to stumble and fall into the water. AJ and Duck turned where the arrow had come from and saw Clementine standing there with Marlon's bow.

''Clem!'' They exclaimed in unison and rushed over to hug her.

''You have no idea how happy I am to see you two,'' Clementine said as she hugged them. ''The others are waiting for us on the beach. We have to go now.''

The three ran to the other end of the pier but stopped dead in their tracks when they spotted Lilly on a raft full of supplies trying to get away from the chaos. When she spotted the three, she immediately dropped her paddle, grabbed a nearby crossbow and aimed pointed it at them. Clementine quickly pulled back an arrow and was ready to shoot the woman.

''There's no need for this to happen,'' Lilly said. ''Let's both turn around and go our separates ways. It's over.''

''Running away from your problems once again. You haven't changed one bit, you know that?'' Clementine snapped.

''How did it ever come to this, Lilly?'' Duck asked. ''We were family once.''

''Because bad things happen. Especially when family is involved,'' Lilly replied with a sorrowful look as she lowered her crossbow. ''Without reinforcements, my people will lose their war. Are you satisfied to hear that? You get to live happily ever after while my people die!''

''It's an us-or-them kind of world, just like you said. And we chose us.'' Duck said.

''Maybe you just don't deserve people, Lilly,'' Clementine spoke. ''It didn't end well for you before and it's not ending well for you now.''

''I suppose you're right. Maybe I am better off alone.'' Lilly admitted. ''Just remember this: Nothing lasts forever. Not friends. Not love. Not the place you call home. It'll all come crashing down eventually.''

Before Duck or Clementine could say anything, Lilly returned to paddling her raft further and further away from them, most likely the last time they would ever see her again.

''Come on,'' Duck said, and three continued making their way off the pier.

Another explosion erupted from the boat as they ran. The shockwave was strong enough to knock them off their feet and they landed onto the beach. Duck coughed several times as smoke started to fill his lungs. Clementine and AJ were by his side, also coughing. He looked up and could make out the figure of a person slowly walking towards them. As it got closer, however, it turned out to be a walker. It snarled and extended it's hand to grab him.

There was a loud thump and the walker collapsed to the ground. Standing in its place was Louis holding a big rock his hands.

''Louis!'' AJ happily exclaimed.

''Hey little dude. Glad to see you're all still in one piece.'' Louis said smiling.

''Get the fuck off me!'' Violet yelled as walker grabbed hold of her leg and was dragging her into the water.

Upon seeing the girl in trouble, Brody rushed over and planted a bolt into the walker's skull.

''Vi, are you alright?'' She asked, helping her up to her feet.

''Yeah,'' Violet replied with a slight smile. ''My ass is a little singed, but I'm good. Thanks.''

They regrouped and snuck over to Omar and Aasim who were hiding behind wooden crates and other debris. The remaining raiders were a couple of feet ahead of them trying to take down the hoard of walkers that surrounded them.

''Oh thank God. You guys made it,'' Aasim said with relief as he saw them arrive.

''Let's celebrate AFTER we get away from these walkers,'' Louis said.

''That explosion drew a lot of them to us,'' Violet noted as stared out from cover.

''Stay cool. We knew this would happen. We just need to find a way off this beach.'' Clementine reassured them. She peeked out and pointed to a spot in the woods. ''There! They brought the cart around.''

They all turned to see Ruby and Willy not too far away with the same cart the raiders used to bring Duck and the others to their boat. Ruby was busy trying to keep the horse calm while Willy shot any walker that got too close to them with a bow.

''Ruby! Willy!'' Aasim shouted to get their attention.

A female raider carrying an axe spotted the two kids. ''I've had it with you little shits!'' She yelled angrily, pulled out a pistol and started shooting at them.

Clementine aimed her bow at the woman and shot her, sending an arrow into her throat. The woman dropped her weapons in and grabbed her neck with both hands, eyes widened in shock. Nearby walkers began grabbing and biting different parts of her body.

''Nooo!'' Minnie screamed and shot all the walkers until her gun ran out of ammo.

She picked up the axe and killed the remaining few with it but it was already too late. The woman was dead. She looked over at Clementine. Her eyes filled with intense hatred.

''Clementine!'' Minnie picked up a grenade and pulled the pin off with her teeth. ''Fuck you!'' She hurled the grenade towards them.

''Look out!'' Duck shouted as he the rest of the group ran out of cover.

The explosion knocked him off his feet and he hit the ground hard. He felt a pair of hands grab his arm and flinched, thinking it was a walker. But instead was Brody trying to help him up.

''We have to go!'' She said and pulled Duck to his feet.

They saw Clementine and the others were already making their way to the cart. But standing between them was a horde of walkers.

''Shit!'' Duck exclaimed as he saw no way of getting past them.

''Guys! Over here!'' A familiar voice shouted from behind.

The two turned around to see Tenn and James hiding behind some rocks and waving them over. Wasting no time, they ran to their direction, careful not to get grabbed by any walkers along the way. James gave Duck one of the two knives he was carrying.

''Follow me.'' He said in an all too calm voice given their situation.

They did so and got as far away from the walker-infested beach as possible and found themselves standing before the entrance of a cave.

''Are you sure it's safe in there?'' Tenn asked nervously.

Duck looked behind and saw a group of walkers heading towards them. ''Looks safer than out here. Move!''

The entrance was so narrow that they had to enter one at a time. The inside of the cave was wide and dark. Duck could barely see four feet in front of him.

''We're safe. For now at least.'' He said, leaning against the wall of the cave to catch his breath.

''Can you hear that?'' Tenn asked them.

Duck listened carefully for a moment and could hear what sounded like a fast-flowing stream not too far ahead.

''We have to move soon or they'll overwhelm us.'' James said, looking at the cave entrance expecting a walker to suddenly appear.

''Keep an eye on them while I find us a way out.'' Duck told him and went further into the cave.

He found Brody hunched over looking at something so went over to her.

''Find something?'' He asked.

''Yeah. Take a look at this,'' She said. In front them were the remains of what appeared to be a campfire. But what was really interesting was the skeletal remains of a person lying next to it. ''Looks like he's been dead for a long time. What do you think happened to him?''

Duck examined the corpse a little longer before responding, ''His left leg looks broken. He probably fell and couldn't move. Must've died of starvation.''

''Poor guy,'' Brody said softly. ''You know, when that explosion went off I...didn't think you made it out.''

''Almost didn't,'' Duck admitted, then smiled at her. ''But don't worry. I'm here now.''

Brody smiled back. She looked from the corpse to the campfire.

''I think I have an idea. Gimme me your knife.'' She said.

Duck handed her his knife and watched as she carefully cut off a piece of the corpse's clothing, grabbed one of the sticks from the campfire and wrapped the cloth around. She then took a stone and used the knife to make a spark. After a few attempts, she finally got it to light.

''Nice work.'' Duck commented, genuinely impressed by her handiwork.

''Oh yeah. You can have this back too.'' Brody said, handing him his crossbow.

Duck took it and slung it around his shoulder. Now that the cave was well illuminated, the two began searching for a way out. Duck looked at the stream and could see a tunnel on the other side of it. The stream was flowing too fast for them to swim across but there was a log that was held in place by some rocks which they use to walk across.

''There's another tunnel on the other side of the stream.'' He informed the others. ''We can use this log to walk across. I'll go first. If it can support my weight then the rest of you should be fine.''

Upon taking the first step, Duck could immediately feel how unstable it was. He took slow and cautious steps the rest of the way and jumped when reaching the last part. ''Be careful. It's not stable so you need to walk slowly or you'll fall.'' He said.

''They're through!'' James yelled.

Walkers began pouring through the entrance one at a time. James took out knife and was fending them off while Brody and Tenn walked across the stream. Once they reached the other side, James ran over and began making his way across as well. The walkers stumbled after him and some ended up falling in the stream. Just as he was about to jump across, a walker fell onto the opposite end of the log and caused to tilt upwards. This caused James to lose his balance and fall into the water.

''No!'' Duck yelled.

A moment went by until James finally surfaced. Duck grabbed him by the hand and quickly pulled him up before the stream swept him away.

''You okay?'' Duck asked.

''I...I think so,'' James managed to reply.

They continued moving forward in hopes of finding an exit out of the cave. The group soon found themselves in a room with about five different tunnels. Brody planted the torch the center of the room so they get to have a better vision of their surroundings.

''You guys see a light down any of these tunnels?'' Brody asked.

''I'm afraid you'll have to go on without me,'' James suddenly said.

''What?'' Duck asked, looking at him with confusion.

James then lifted up his right pant leg to reveal a bite mark. Everyone's eyes widened at the horrible realization.

''Oh...no.'' Tenn muttered.

''Wait! There's still time!'' Duck exclaimed. ''We can cut it off right now and-''

''No,'' James calmly interrupted him.

''What do you mean 'no'? If we don't do this right now, you'll turn!''

''I understand that. And I accept it,'' James said. When the saw the looks of confusion on their faces, he explained, ''You must understand as well. The people I was a part of, The Whisperers, we walked among walkers like we were one of them. While the rest of my people used them as a weapon against their enemies. I became close to them. I wanted to protect them.''

''Protect them?'' Duck said in complete disbelief. ''James, they're dead! And all they care about doing now is eating anything with a fucking heartbeat! Why would you want to protect that?''

''I don't believe they're dead. Nor do I believe they're alive. I believe they're in a state that's between life and death.''

''Even if that was true, why do you want to become them?'' Brody asked him.

''Because I always knew that if I was to one day die, that I'd get to _actually_ walk among them without having to put on some mask and pretend to be something I'm not,'' James explained.

''Listen to me, James, I'm grateful for you saving me, Clem and AJ from those walkers weeks ago. And I don't think you're a bad person. But what you just said right there is the dumbest thing I've ever heard anyone say in my entire life!'' Duck exclaimed, now standing inches away from the boys face.

James let out a long sigh. ''I wasn't expecting you to understand. But I had to at least try.''

Just then they could the unmistakable sound of a walker horde getting louder with each passing second.

''It's time for you to go now,'' James said.

Brody grabbed Duck's arm and shook it. ''Duck, we need to go now!''

Duck looked at her and then back James. It took all of his self-control not to punch him in the face. ''Goddammit, James!''

He grabbed the torch and starting running down one tunnel with Brody and Tenn close behind him, leaving James alone in the dark to his fate.


	15. Episode 4: Part 2

They managed to make it out of the cave in one piece. Duck scanned the trees for any and was relieved to see none. He then turned back at the entrance of the cave, hoping to see James arrive and say that he changed his mind. But as ten seconds passed with no sign of the boy, Duck had given up on the idea that he was even alive anymore. His grip the makeshift torch loosened and it fell to the dirt. It's light slowly faded away. Duck felt a hand his shoulder. He turned to see Brody staring at him with a concerned look.

''You okay?'' She asked.

''Yeah.'' Duck lied, not sure if she believed him or not.

''It's what he wanted.''

''I know.'' He whispered.

They stood there in silence. Brody closed her eyes, leaned and pressed her lips gently against Ducks. As surprising as it was, Duck welcomed the taste of her warm, soft lips. They stayed that way for a few seconds before finally pulling away.

''Guys, I think I found a pathway we can take.'' Tenn's voice broke the two from their trance and reminded them they weren't out of the woods yet.

"We should-" Brody tilted her heads towards the opposite direction of the cave entrance.

''Yeah.'' Duck agreed and started walking, Brody close behind.

The three of them continued down the dirt path for a few minutes before the sound of twig snapping made them stopped dead in their tracks. Duck instinctively took out his crossbow and aimed in the direction of the noise, ready to put down whatever showed itself. A moment later, Clementine and AJ stepped from behind the tree.

''You guys are alright!'' AJ happily exclaimed as he rushed in and wrapped his arms around Ducks waist, making the older boy smile widely. AJ did the same for Brody and Tenn.

''I'm so glad we found you guys,'' Clementine said as she hugged Duck.

''Where are the others?'' Duck asked her.

''They took the cart and headed back to the school. AJ and I wanted stay and to look for you guys.'' Clementine explained. She looked at each of them noticed someone missing. ''Where's James?''

Duck gave her a mournful looked and shook his head slowly. Clementine understood immediately what he meant.

''Fuck.'' She sighed sadly. ''C'mon. Let's go home.''

She led them along the path with Duck walking right beside her.

''I went to James and asked for his help in getting the walkers to distract the raiders,'' Clementine explained. ''We wouldn't have been able to reach you guys without his help.''

''That explosion on the ship. That was you?'' Duck asked.

She nodded. ''Yeah. Willy's idea.''

''How did you guys even find us?''

''Abel survived the attack. I...got him to tell me where you were.''

It wasn't hard to figure out how Clementine managed to do that, but Duck didn't feel the need to talk about it. None of it matter anymore.

''Lilly and those raiders won't be bothering us anymore. We can finally put all this bullshit behind us.'' He said with relief.

''Thank God for that.'' Clementine agreed.

The sight of a bridge came into view further ahead. They stood just outside of it to have a better look. The entire thing was made out of wood and had a roof over it. There was a rusty old pickup truck parked in the middle. The entire thing didn't look particularly stable.

''Okay. Just take your time your time and keep moving forward.'' Clementine said before taking the first few steps on it.

The others followed closely and carefully. They had to climb over the pickup and noticed a wide gap on the bridge. Below they could see a steady stream of water along with a few rocks pointing upwards.

''That's... far,'' AJ noted as he stared down.

''Really far.'' Tenn agreed.

''Don't worry. We should be able to make-'' Duck's sentence was cut by the faint sound of...singing?

''Never mind the darkness,'' His blood ran cold as he recognized the voice.

''Never mind the storm,'' Everyone slowly turned around to see a figure approaching the bridge. It was covered in blood and guts and carried an equally messy axe.

''Shit.'' Duck muttered, knowing full well who it was.

''Never mind the blood red moon. The night will be over soon.'' Moonlight shined over her face as the song came to an end.

''Minnie!'' Tenn exclaimed.

''I did it! I found you! Oh, Tenn...'' She said, holding out her hand towards him. ''My sweet little brother. Come with me.''

Duck quickly took out his crossbow and aimed at her. ''You stay the fuck back, Minnie! Don't come any closer!'' He yelled.

But it was if Minnie didn't even acknowledge his existence. All she focused on was her brother. ''Come to me, Tenn.'' She spoke. ''We're gonna go be with Mom, and Dad, and Sophie.''

Ten took a step forward but Clementine grabbed his shoulder.

''Tenn, no!'' She exclaimed. ''You can't-''

_**BANG!**_

''Don't any of you fucking touch him!'' Minnie yelled as she waved the gun wildly at them.

They all took cover behind the pickup. Walkers began converging towards them. No doubt attracted to the all commotion.

''Minnie, stop!'' Brody shouted. ''We can talk about this but please! You have to stop!''

''I'm taking my brother. And none of you are gonna stop me.'' She calmly stated. ''Do you hear me, Tenn? I'm not going anywhere without you. The night will be over soon.''

Tenn stood up and stared at her with a torn look. She aimed the gun at him but AJ tackled him to the ground as bullets started to fly.

''Brody, get AJ and Tenn across the bridge. Clem and I will hold them off.'' Duck said.

He and Clementine began slowly picking off the horde by sending arrows and bolts into their heads, but it was obvious they wouldn't have enough to kill all of them. Minnie wasn't making things any easier. Since she was covered in guts, the walkers couldn't detect her, so she was able to freely walk among them all the while trying to get a good shot at Duck and Clementine.

''Shit! I'm out!'' Clementine said as she sent her last arrow at Minnie's direction, only for the girl use a nearby walker as a shield at the last second.

''Guys, Tenn won't move!'' Brody shouted.

Duck looked behind him and saw Tenn standing over the edging shaking with fear. ''Clem go help her get Tenn across!''

Clementine nodded and went over to help. Duck stayed in cover as Minnie continued shooting. But the audible sound of clicking indicated she was out of ammo. Thinking it was safe, he peeked from cover ready to shoot, only to see Minnie standing on top of the Pickup and bringing the axe down on him. Duck jumped back just in time to avoid having the blade bury itself in his skull. But his crossbow got caught instead and was completely broken on impact.

Minnie jumped off the pickup and charged at him with the axe raised over her head. Duck jumped back once again and the axe dug into the wooden floor, causing it to crack and splinter. Minnie struggled to get it out of the floor. Duck took advantage of that by running up and grabbing one end of the axe immediately after she got it free. The two of them began wrestling for control over the axe. Minnie then pushed the axe downwards and it buried into Ducks right foot, almost cutting it in half.

Duck let out an agonizing scream as he felt by far the worst physical pain in his life. As Minnie pulled the axe out of his foot, Duck fell on his back, clutching his right leg and wincing.

''Duck no!'' He heard AJ and Brody yell from the other side of the bridge.

''Leave him alone!'' Clementine shouted at Minnie.

''Minnie, stop! please! This isn't you!'' Tenn pleaded with his sister.

But Minnie ignored their cries and glared down at Duck. Her hands wrapped tightly around the axe and trembling with rage.

''You took everything from me!'' She yelled at him. ''My Home! My family! Everything!''

Even through the pain, Duck couldn't help but laugh. Genuinely laugh to point he was almost in tears. When he finally recovered, he looked up at Minnie. ''You took it all from yourself, you stupid BITCH!''

Minnie, now enraged, raised the axe over her head and brought it down. Duck quickly rolled out the way and felt the floor vibrate on the impact. He then kicked Minnie's leg, causing her to stumble forward. He grabbed her head and sunk his teeth into her face. Minnie let out a pained cry as she began furiously punching Duck to make him let go. Duck finally pulled back and tore her entire nose off.

He spat the chunk of flesh out and almost vomited at the taste of blood in his mouth. Minnie was on the floor screaming and holding the spot where her nose had once been with both hands. Blood spurting between her fingers. Duck had managed to stand up and grab the axe. He raised it over his head and brought down on the girl's skull with a sickening crack.

He barely had time to take in what had just happened when walkers had climbed over the pickup and were slowly heading towards him. But it seemed most of them were more interested in feasting on Minnie's corpse than on him.

Duck hesitated when staring down at the edge of the gap. If his foot wasn't so badly injured, he could've easily made the jump. But now he wasn't so sure about that.

''You have to jump!" Clementine told him from the other side of the bridge. ''I'll catch you!''

It was either jump or get devoured by walkers. Duck made his choice. After breathing in and out, he jumped for it, grabbing hold of Clementine's extended hand. But it didn't work out as planned. Clementine started sliding over the edge, only to be stopped when Brody grabbed hold her right leg while Tenn and AJ grabbed her left.

''Pull us up!'' Clementine said to them.

''We're trying!'' Brody said as she and the boys clearly struggled to pull the two up.

Then they began to hear the unmistakable sound of wood cracking beneath them.

''Fuck! It's not gonna hold!'' Duck said. He looked down at the flowing stream. It would be too far of a drop to survive. But if only one of them fell, then the rest would make it. As much it pained him to think that way, he couldn't see any other options. ''Clem, you have to let me go!''

''No! Don't you fucking say that!'' She yelled immediately. Perhaps she had come to the exact same conclusion and was once again just being stubborn.

''It's the only way!'' Duck tried to reason with her.

''I said no!''

The wooden floor was cracking further and began to tilt slightly downwards. There wasn't much time left.

''Clem,'' Duck said calmly. Clementine stared into his eyes, fresh tears began to form. He knew that she knew this was the only way.''It's okay, little sister. It's okay.''

The tears flowed freely down Clementine's face as she loosened her grip on Duck's hand. The final few moments felt strange for Duck, rather than immediately plummeting down to his death, it felt more like he was falling in slow motion. He gazed up at his friends, taking in each of their faces for what would be the last time. Tenn stared at him with a mournful expression. Brody looked like she was on the brink of tears. AJ screamed out his name from the top of his lungs. Clementine was crying as she mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' to him.

_Goodbye._ Duck closed his eyes. And welcomed the end.


	16. Episode 4: Part 3

_''I'm not staying here without you!'' Duck exclaimed._

_''Yes you are, Duck.'' His father said in a firm tone._

_After everything they've been through. Everyone they've lost along the way. They finally reached Wellington, a place they could live in safety. But the people would only allow Duck, Clementine, and AJ due to there being too little space. Kenny may have accepted the terms, but Duck did not._

_''No I'm not!''_

_''YES YOU ARE!'' Kenny yelled this time. He knelt and grabbed his son by his shoulders. ''You three will be safe here and that's all that matters.''_

_''You can't just leave me,'' Duck said with tears streaming down his face. ''You just can't.''_

_''I don't want to leave you, Duck. But this is the only way you can live a normal life again. Live safely behind walls, sleep in comfortable beds, be around people who will care about you. If it means I never get to see you again, that's the price I'll gladly pay.''_

_Clementine stood close by with the baby in her arms and watched the father and son talk. As much as she wanted to voice her own opinion, she knew this wasn't something she could get involved in and needed to let the two of them have their final, emotional goodbye._

_''You see Clementine and Alvin Jr. there?'' Kenny tilted his head towards the two. ''They're your family now. And you protect your family. Promise me you'll protect them.''_

_Duck wanted to protest so badly, but he knew there was nothing he could do to change his father's mind. The man was just stubborn like that. So instead all he could do was accept that fact._

_''I promise,'' He said softly._

_''That's my boy,'' Kenny took off his hat and placed it on Duck's head. ''Here. I want to you have this. It'll uh...keep the sun out of your face.''_

_The two shared a brief laugh at that. Kenny then wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him close. Duck did the same. The two stayed holding each other for a moment they wish could last forever._

_''I'll always love you, son. Never forget that.'' Kenny whispered._

_''I'll always love you too, Dad.''_

_They finally let go of one another and Kenny stood up. ''Alright, I'm gonna go now...before one of us...'' He sucked in a breath. ''Before one of us changes their mind.''_

_He went over to Clementine and hugged her tight as well. ''Goodbye, Clementine. I'm glad Duck has a friend like you.''_

_''Goodbye, Kenny,'' Clementine said with tears of her own._

_Kenny picked up the bag of supplies left for him and the children watched as he went on his way. A short while later, he ended up stopping._

_'Please look back. Please look back.'' Duck whispered._

_He continued walking and soon disappeared over the snow-covered hill. Duck briefly thought about running after his father, but that was quickly erased when Clementine's hand took his own and gently guided him past the gates of Wellington. After they closed, it was just the three of them now._

_'He's gone,'' Duck sobbed weakly._

_Clementine held him close and let the boy cry out his pain. Duck wrapped his arms around his family. The family he would always protect. Until the day would come when he couldn't anymore._

* * *

AJ stared down at the stream with mild fascination as he sat on the small wooden bridge. Behind him, Clementine was busy with a spear and catching any fish unfortunate to swim in her line of sight. He could hear her softly singing some song he had already heard a few times before.

''Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is but a dream. AJ, come on,'' Clementine insisted. Reluctantly, he sang along. ''Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. If you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream.''

''Don't forget to scream,'' AJ ended the song halfheartedly.

''What's the matter, Goofball? Don't like this song?'' She asked.

''Not really,'' He admitted. ''It sounds kinda dumb. Why would you need to scream? That'll just bring monsters.''

''Yeah, I guess you're right. This song was made from a time before monsters.''

''That sure sounds like a nice to time to live in,'' AJ said softly.

Clementine seemed to have noticed something was bothering the young boy. She put the spear aside and took a seat next to him.

''Hey, what's really the matter?'' She asked with a concerned look.

''Nothing. It's just...'' AJ sighed and looked at her. ''It doesn't feel the same without him here with us.''

Clementine gave him a sad look. ''I know, AJ, I know.'' She said, then went back to fishing.

The two of them had been trying to move on after what happened to Duck. But without him around, things just felt so...different.

''I think that's enough fishing for the day,'' Clementine said after tossing her latest catch in the metal bucket and turning to AJ. ''I'm gonna put the spear away. Will you get Callus while I'm gone?''

AJ nodded and watched as Clementine took the spear went into the shed. He got up and walked over to Callus, one of the three horses they had stolen from the raiders. Ruby had been the one to name them since she was the only one in the group who had experience in handling them. It was a peculiar name, Callus, but AJ didn't think much more about it. He reached the spot they had left Callus. The horse was busy chewing on some grass next to the tree his reins were tied to.

''Come on, buddy. Time to go.'' AJ said as he undid the reins and guided the horse to the shed.

Clementine came out a moment later with the bucket full of fish and the two were on their way back to the school. It had been four days since the attack of the raiders but for now, there was a sense of peace as the kids went about their daily lives. Along the way, they had passed Ruby and Aasim also returning from hunting. Willy climbed down a nearby tree after he was done installing their latest trap. Violet was on watch duty and nodded at them as they went inside.

Clementine helped AJ off of Callus and put the horse with the others. AJ went over to give Omar the fish they caught was about to go inside when Clementine stopped him.

''I've got something to show you,'' She said with a smile.

Curious, he followed her past the graveyard and to the large tree. What AJ saw next made his eyes go wide.

''What do you think, AJ?''

Duck asked with a smile of his own as he stood next to tire swing that was tied firmly to the tree. He moved away from it slightly using the two crutches he had to balance himself.

''Wow!'' AJ exclaimed and ran over to the swing. ''You guys made this for me?''

''Yep,'' Clementine answered. ''Why don't you go and try out?''

She picked the boy up and placed him on the swing, then proceed to push him slowly at first but quickly picked up speed. AJ was laughing and seemed to very much enjoy the experience.

Duck watched the boy smiling and laughing as he was being pushed. It made him think of the good old days when he was still a little boy and his dad pushed him on a swing. His eyes then drifted down to his only foot. There was nothing they could do to save the other one. It had to be amputated before infection set it. It was nothing short of a miracle that Duck had survived that day.

He most definitely wouldn't have if it wasn't for her.

* * *

_Duck wasn't sure what he expected to see the next time he opened his eyes. A choir of angels? The faces of everyone he knew that were deceased? Or nothing at all? But when the time came that he did manage to open them, he was greeted by a clear morning sky and the faint sound birds chirping in the distance._

_''Well look at you, back from the dead.'' Said a female voice._

_Duck's body jolted into a sitting position. The sudden movement caused his injured foot to sting with pain. He ignored it and looked for the source of the voice until his eyes landed on someone he never even imagined he would see again._

_''Lilly!?'' He cried out in surprise._

_Indeed it was. The woman sat hunched over on a wooden box staring directly back at him. ''You can relax. If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't have fished you out of the river.'' She said, putting her hands up to show no harm._

_Duck took a moment to gaze at his surrounds. The two were on a raft that was drifting along a calm river. In his mind, he processed what she had just said._

_''You...saved me?'' He asked._

_''Trust me. I'm having a hard time believe it myself.'' Lilly said._

_''But why? You could've just killed me.''_

_''Just like you could've killed me on the boat,'' She pointed out. ''I'd say we're even.''_

_''That doesn't answer my question.''_

_Lilly let out a sigh. ''I don't know why exactly. Maybe I've just gotten tired of killing. Maybe if I'd save you, I'd prove I'm not always a heartless monster.'' She stared out at the water. ''Or maybe you were right. About us being family once.''_

_Duck found it so strange that this woman, who had previously done nothing but be a constant threat to him and the people close to him, was now the reason he was still breathing. Despite what Duck what might've thought about Lilly, he knew he wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for her. Whatever her reasons were for doing so._

_''Thanks,'' He muttered._

_Lilly only nodded in response._

_''So what will you do now?'' He asked her._

_The woman seemed to think for a moment before answering. ''Probably take this raft as far down the river as I can. After that, just wander aimlessly, I guess.''_

_''So you're really not going back to the Delta?''_

_''There's just no point,'' Lilly shook her head. ''If I go back and tell my superiors what happened, they'll execute me on the spot for losing valuable soldiers and resources. Better to take my chances somewhere else.''_

_Duck supposed that made sense. His thoughts then drifted to Clementine and AJ. They must've thought he was dead. He needed to get back to them fast. Lilly rowed the raft to the nearby shore and gave Duck a long wooden pole he could use to walk and defend himself._

_''Thanks again for helping me,'' Duck said when he was on land. ''And wherever you decide to go, I hope you'll find peace.''_

_''As if I deserve it,'' Lilly said softly._

_Duck watched for a moment as she paddled away and then started to his own journey back home._

* * *

''Duck?''

''Uh, Yeah?'' Duck said, snapping out of his trip down memory lane and looking down at AJ.

''I was just saying thanks for the swing. It's great!'' AJ said with a big smile and wrapped his small arms around Ducks waist.

Duck smiled as well and patted him on the back. ''I'm glad you like it, AJ,''

''I'm gonna find Tenn and see if he wants to play too.'' The little boy said before taking off, leaving him and Clementine alone.

''He wishes you could come out with us,'' she said suddenly.

''Really?''

''Yeah. And I do too. It just doesn't feel the same without you around as much.''

''We all just need some time to get used to this,'' Duck said, looking down at his missing foot. ''I'm glad I at least have these crutches to help move around. If I had to stay cooped up in our room I'd probably lose my mind.''

They walked passed the graveyard and sat down on the stone steps.

''Did you ever imagine we'd find a place like? A place to call home?'' Clementine asked.

''There were times when I had my doubts,'' Duck admitted. ''But I knew was we had to keep moving forward. What else could we do?''

''I'm glad we did find this place. It's great,'' She said. ''Not just us but for AJ most importantly. No more drifting from place to place looking for your next meal. No more having to sleep with one eye open every night. He has the chance to live a safe and normal life here.''

Duck nodded in agreement. But he noticed that all too familiar look on Clementine's face that showed something was bothering her.

''I still think about that night...about what I did,'' She said in a quiet voice, staring down at her feet. ''Letting you go...was one of the hardest things I've had to do. It reminded me too much my last moments with Lee. And after that...I thought I just killed another person close to me. And even when you came back, stumbling through the gates, I didn't even think you were real until I held you in my arms.''

Tears began to fill Clementine's eyes. Duck put an arm around her pulled her close to him. He could only imagine the pain she felt believing he was dead. He remembered how he felt when saying goodbye to his father back at Wellington, and how he had cried his heart in Clementine's arms. Duck knew he could do no less for her.

''It's alright, little sister. I'm not going anywhere. Not anytime soon.'' He said.

''You promise?'' She asked softly.

_I don't know if I can do that, Clem. There's no telling what the future might still have in store for us._ Duck thought.

''I promise.''

* * *

When dinnertime finally came, everyone was surprised to learn that they would be eating indoors. Especially in the large room where two tables were pushed together to form a larger one. Even Louis' piano was moved and now rested in the corner of the room. Duck took a seat with Clementine and AJ at his right while Brody sat at his left. The only two people that were standing were Violet and Louis.

''So how come you wanted us all gathered around here?'' Clementine asked them.

''We're getting to that,'' Louis answered, then looked at all of them. ''Now I know we've all had an eventful couple of weeks. We've lost some people close to us,'' He said with a mournful look that quickly brightened up. ''But at the same time, we've gained some new people. And I'm sure I speak for all us when I say them being here with us is one of the best things to have ever happened.'' He said, looking at Duck, Clementine, and AJ.

Everyone else stared at them with smiles of their own and nods of agreement, making the trio feel extremely welcomed.

Violet took over the speech. ''What we want to say is that we're not just survivors, we're family. It's time for us to finally close this dark chapter in our lives and build a brighter future together.'' She said. ''And that's why we're here now. Louis and I have been thinking about how we could celebrate this special occasion and decided on a song.''

''You're gonna sing for us?'' Brody asked with wide eyes. ''Gosh, you haven't done that in a long time.''

Violet nodded. ''I know. And I think its time I did it more often.''

''It's nice to hear you say that. You always did have a great singing voice.'' Tenn said with a warm smile.

''Well then let's not wait any longer to hear it,'' Louis went over and sat by his piano. ''Ready when you are, Vi.''

Violet closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ''I'm ready.''

As Louis began filling the room with a soft tune, Violet's eyes reopened.

''The tops of crags and cliffs, the air is thin. So we'll find a mountain path on down the hill,'' Duck was left stunned. Tenn wasn't kidding when he said she had a great singing voice. ''Meet me where the snow mount flows. It is there, my dear, where we will begin again. Skipping stones, braiding hair. Last year's antlers mark the trail. Take us back, oh, take us back. Oh, take us, take us back.''

Duck took a moment to gaze around the room. Everyone else seemed just as entranced as he was by her voice.

''I've a friend who lives out by the rivers mouth. He knows the fiddles cry is an old sound. A lonesome creeks and moans of empty houses. Are songs of like fallen rain Windblown buildings, muddy ground. The strength of water can sink a man. Take us back, oh, take us back. Oh, take us, take us back.''

He could hear several of the kids humming along to the song, including Clementine and AJ. It was just so...peaceful.

''When the higher hills have turned blue. And the waves are lapping where the children grew. All that we have known will be an echo. Of days when love was true. Muted voices just beyond. The silent surface of what has gone.''

Duck may not have known what the future would hold for them. But moments like these, they're the things he would cherish forever. Because enjoying this peaceful moment and surrounded by the people he cared about, Duck felt that for the first time in a really long time...

That everything was just perfect.

**The End**


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